THE  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


“ How  beautiful  to  see 
Once  more  a shepherd  of  mankind  indeed. 

Who  loved  his  charge,  but  never  loved  to  lead; 

One  whose  meek  flock  the  people  joyed  to  be. 

Not  lured  by  any  cheat  of  birth. 

But  by  his  clear-grained  human  worth. 

And  brave  old  wisdom  of  sincerity ! 

They  knew  that  outward  grace  is  dust; 

They  could  not  choose  but  trust 
In  that  sure-footed  mind's  unfaltering  skill. 

And  supple-tempered  will 

That  bent  like  perfect  steel  to  spring  again  and  thrust. 
His  was  no  lonely  mountain-peak  of  mind. 

Thrusting  to  thin  air  o'er  our  cloudy  bars, 

A sea-mark  now,  now  lost  in  vapors  blind; 

Broad  prairie  rather,  genial,  level-lined. 

Fruitful  and  friendly  for  all  human  kind. 

Yet  also  nigh  to  heaven  and  loved  of  loftiest  stars. 


“Great  captains,  with  their  guns  and  drums. 
Disturb  our  judgment  for  the  hour. 

But  at  last  silence  comes; 

These  all  are  gone,  and,  standing  like  a tower. 
Our  children  shall  behold  his  fame. 

The  kindly-earnest,  brave,  foreseeing  man, 
Sagacious,  patient,  dreading  praise,  not  blame. 
New  birth  of  our  new  soil,  the  first  American.” 


James  Russell  Lowell. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/everydaylifeofab01brow_0 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

FROM  AN  UNPUBLISHED  ORIGINAL  DRAWING 
BY  JOHN  NELSON  MARBLE 


THE  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


A NARRATIVE  AND.  DESCRIPTIVE 
BIOGRAPHY  WITH  PEN-PICTURES 
AND  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS 
BY  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM 


BY 

FRANCIS  FISHER  BROWNE 

Compiler  of  “ Golden  Poems ” “ Bugle  Echoes:  Poems  of 
the  Civil  War”  “ Laurel-Crowned  Verse”  etc. 


NEW  AND  THOROUGHLY  REVISED  EDITION,  FROM  NEW  PLATES,  WITH 
AN  ENTIRELY  NEW  PORTRAIT  OF  LINCOLN,  FROM  A 
CHARCOAL  STUDY  BY  J.  N.  MARBLE 


CHICAGO 

BROWNE  & HOWELL  COMPANY 
1913 


COPYRIGHT,  1913 
BY  BROWNE  & HOWELL  COMPANY 


All  rights  reserved 
Copyright  in  England 


PUBLISHED,  NOVEMBER,  1913 


THE'PLIUPTON'PRESS 

NORWOOD-MASS-U-S-A 


? 2 
L ; 

FRANCIS  FISHER  BROWNE 

1843-1913 

The  present  revision  of  “ The  Every-day  Life  of  Abraham 
Lincoln”  was  the  last  literary  labor  of  its  author.  He 
had  long  wished  to  undertake  the  work,  and  had  talked 
much  of  it  for  several  years  past.  But  favorable  arrange- 
ments for  the  book’s  republication  were  not  completed 
until  about  a year  ago.  Then,  though  by  no  means 
recovered  from  an  attack  of  pneumonia  late  in  the  previous 
winter,  he  took  up  the  task  of  revision  and  recasting  with 
something  of  his  old-time  energy.  It  was  a far  heavier 
task  than  he  had  anticipated,  but  he  gave  it  practically 
his  undivided  attention  until  within  three  or  four  weeks 
of  his  death.  Only  when  the  last  pages  of  manuscript 
had  been  despatched  to  the  printer  did  he  yield  to  the 
overwhelming  physical  suffering  that  had  been  upon  him 
for  a long  time  past.  His  death  occurred  at  Santa  Bar- 
bara, California,  on  May  11. 

Francis  Fisher  Browne  was  born  at  South  Halifax, 
Vermont,  on  December  1,  1843.  His  parentage,  on  both 
sides,  was  of  the  purest  New  England  stock.  Early  in 
his  childhood,  the  family  moved  to  Western  Massachu- 
setts, where  the  boy  went  to  school  and  learned  the  print- 
ing trade  in  his  father’s  newspaper  office  at  Chicopee.  As 
a lad  of  eighteen,  he  left  the  high  school  in  answer  to  the 
government’s  call  for  volunteers,  serving  for  a year  with 
the  46th  Massachusetts  Regiment  in  North  Carolina  and 
with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  When  the  regiment  was 
discharged,  in  1863,  he  decided  to  take  up  the  study  of 


301231 


VI 


FRANCIS  FISHER  BROWNE 


law.  Removing  to  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  he  entered  a law 
office  in  that  city;  and  a year  or  two  later  began  a brief 
course  in  the  law  department  of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan. He  was  unable  to  continue  in  college,  however, 
and  returned  to  Rochester  to  follow  his  trade. 

Immediately  after  his  marriage,  in  1867,  he  came  to 
Chicago,  with  the  definite  intention  of  engaging  in  literary 
work.  Here  he  became  associated  with  “The  Western 
Monthly,”  which,  with  the  fuller  establishment  of  his 
control,  he  rechristened  “The  Lakeside  Monthly.”  The 
best  writers  throughout  the  West  were  gradually  enlisted 
as  contributors;  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  magazine 
was  generally  recognized  as  the  most  creditable  and 
promising  periodical  west  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  But 
along  with  this  increasing  prestige  came  a series  of  ex- 
traneous setbacks  and  calamities,  culminating  in  a com- 
plete physical  breakdown  of  its  editor  and  owner,  which 
made  the  magazine’s  suspension  imperative. 

The  six  years  immediately  following,  from  1874  to  1880, 
were  largely  spent  in  a search  for  health.  During  part  of 
this  time,  however,  Mr.  Browne  acted  as  literary  editor 
of  “The  Alliance,”  and  as  special  editorial  writer  for  some 
of  the  leading  Chicago  newspapers.  But  his  mind  was 
preoccupied  with  plans  for  a new  periodical  — this  time 
a journal  of  literary  criticism,  modeled  somewhat  after 
such  English  publications  as  “The  Athenaeum”  and  “The 
Academy.”  In  the  furtherance  of  this  bold  conception 
he  was  able  to  interest  the  publishing  firm  of  Jansen, 
McClurg  & Co.;  and  under  their  imprint,  in  May,  1880, 
appeared  the  first  issue  of  The  Dial,  “a  monthly  review 
and  index  of  current  literature.”  At  about  the  same  time 
he  became  literary  adviser  to  the  publishing  department 
of  the  house,  and  for  twelve  years  thereafter  toiled  unre- 
mittingly at  his  double  task-work.  In  1892,  negotiations 
were  completed  whereby  he  acquired  Messrs.  McClurg 
& Co.’s  interest  in  the  periodical.  It  was  enlarged  in 


FRANCIS  F.  BROWNE 


FRANCIS  FISHER  BROWNE 


vii 

scope,  and  made  a semi-monthly;  and  from  that  time 
until  his  death  it  appeared  uninterruptedly  under  his 
guidance  and  his  control. 

Besides  his  writings  in  The  Dial  and  other  periodicals, 
Mr.  Browne  is  the  author  of  a small  volume  of  poems, 
“Volunteer  Grain”  (1895).  He  also  compiled  and 
edited  several  anthologies,  — “Bugle  Echoes,”  a collec- 
tion of  Civil  War  poems  (1886);  “Golden  Poems  by 
British  and  American  Authors”  (1881);  “The  Golden 
Treasury  of  Poetry  and  Prose  ” (1883) ; and  seven  volumes 
of  “Laurel-Crowned  Verse”  (1891-2).  He  was  one  of 
the  small  group  of  men  who,  in  1874,  founded  the  Chicago 
Literary  Club;  and  for  a number  of  years  past  he  has 
been  an  honorary  member  of  that  organization,  as  well 
as  of  the  Caxton  Club  (Chicago)  and  the  Twilight  Club 
(Pasadena,  Cal.).  During  the  summer  of  1893  he  served 
as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  Congress  of  Authors 
of  the  World’s  Congress  Auxiliary  of  the  Columbian 
Exposition. 

The  Publishers 


301231 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION 


The  original  edition  of  this  book  was  published  about 
twenty  years  after  Lincoln’s  death  at  the  close  of  the 
Civil  War.  At  that  time  many  of  the  men  who  had 
taken  a prominent  part  in  the  affairs,  military  and  civil, 
of  that  heroic  period,  many  who  had  known  Lincoln  and 
had  come  in  personal  contact  with  him  during  the  war  or 
in  his  earlier  years,  were  still  living.  It  was  a vivid  con- 
ception of  the  value  of  the  personal  recollections  of  these 
men,  gathered  and  recorded  before  it  was  too  late,  that 
led  to  the  preparation  of  this  book.  It  was  intended  to 
be,  and  in  effect  it  was,  largely  an  anecdotal  Life  of  Lin- 
coln built  of  material  gathered  from  men  still  living 
who  had  known  him  personally.  The  task  was  begun 
none  too  soon.  Of  the  hundreds  who  responded  to  the 
requests  for  contributions  of  their  memories  of  Lincoln 
there  were  few  whose  lives  extended  very  far  into  the 
second  quarter-century  after  his  death,  and  few  indeed 
survive  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  fifty  years,  — though 
in  several  instances  the  author  has  been  so  fortunate  as 
to  get  valuable  material  directly  from  persons  still  living 
(1913).  Of  the  more  than  five  hundred  friends  and 
contemporaries  of  Lincoln  to  whom  credit  for  material 
is  given  in  the  original  edition,  scarcely  a dozen  are  living 
at  the  date  of  this  second  edition.  Therefore,  the  value 
of  these  reminiscences  increases  with  time.  They  were 
gathered  largely  at  first  hand.  They  can  never  be 
replaced,  nor  can  they  ever  be  very  much  extended. 

This  book  brings  Lincoln  the  man,  not  Lincoln  the 
tradition,  very  near  to  us.  Browning  asked,  “And  did 


X PREFACE  TO  SECOND  EDITION 


you  once  see  Shelley  plain?  And  did  he  stop  and  speak 
to  you?”  The  men  whose  narratives  make  up  a large 
part  of  this  book  all  saw  Lincoln  plain,  and  here  tell  us 
what  he  spoke  to  them,  and  how  he  looked  and  seemed 
while  saying  it.  The  great  events  of  Lincoln’s  life,  and 
impressions  of  his  character,  are  given  in  the  actual 
words  of  those  who  knew  him  — his  friends,  neighbors, 
and  daily  associates  — rather  than  condensed  and 
remolded  into  other  form.  While  these  utterances  are 
in  some  cases  rude  and  unstudied,  they  have  often  a 
power  of  delineation  and  a graphic  force  that  more  than 
compensate  for  any  lack  of  literary  quality. 

In  a work  prepared  on  such  a plan  as  this,  some  repeti- 
tions are  unavoidable;  nor  are  they  undesirable.  An 
event  or  incident  narrated  by  different  observers  is 
thereby  brought  out  with  greater  fulness  of  detail;  and 
phases  of  Lincoln’s  many-sided  character  are  revealed  more 
clearly  by  the  varied  impressions  of  numerous  witnesses 
whose  accounts  thus  correct  or  verify  each  other.  Some 
inconsistencies  and  contradictions  are  inevitable,  — but 
these  relate  usually  to  minor  matters,  seldom  or  never 
to  the  great  essentials  of  Lincoln’s  life  and  personality. 
The  author’s  desire  is  to  present  material  from  which 
the  reader  may  form  an  opinion  of  Lincoln,  rather  than  to 
present  opinions  and  judgments  of  his  own. 

Lincoln  literature  has  increased  amazingly  in  the  past 
twenty-five  years.  Mention  of  the  principal  biographies 
in  existence  at  the  time  of  the  original  edition  was  included 
in  the  Preface.  Since  then  there  have  appeared,  among 
the  more  formal  biographies,  the  comprehensive  and 
authoritative  work  by  Nicolay  and  Hay,  the  subsequent 
work  by  Miss  Ida  Tarbell,  and  that  by  Herndon  and 
Weik,  besides  many  more  or  less  fragmentary  publica- 
tions. Some  additions,  but  not  many,  have  been  made 
to  the  present  edition  from  these  sources.  The  recently- 
published  Diary  of  Gideon  Welles,  one  of  the  most  valu- 


PREFACE  TO  SECOND  EDITION  xi 


able  commentaries  on  the  Civil  War  period  now  available, 
has  provided  some  material  of  exceptional  interest  con- 
cerning Lincoln’s  relations  with  the  members  of  his 
Cabinet. 

In  re-writing  the  present  work,  it  has  been  compressed 
into  about  two-thirds  of  its  former  compass,  to  render  it 
more  popular  both  in  form  and  in  price,  and  to  give  it 
in  some  places  a greater  measure  of  coherency  and  con- 
tinuity as  an  outline  narrative  of  the  Civil  War.  But 
its  chief  appeal  to  the  interest  of  its  readers  will  remain 
substantially  what  it  was  in  the  beginning,  as  set  forth 
in  its  title,  “The  Every-day  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  by 
Those  Who  Knew  Him.” 

F.  F.  B. 

Santa  Barbara,  Cal.,  April,  1913. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION 


This  book  aims  to  give  a view,  clearer  and  more  complete 
than  has  been  given  before,  of  the  personality  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln.  A life  so  full  of  incident  and  a character 
so  many-sided  as  his  can  be  understood  only  with  the 
lapse  of  time.  A sense  of  the  exhaustless  interest  of  that 
life  and  character,  and  the  inadequacy  of  the  ordinarily 
constructed  biography  to  portray  his  many-sidedness, 
suggested  the  preparation  of  a work  upon  the  novel  plan 
here  represented.  Begun  several  years  ago,  the  under- 
taking proved  of  such  magnitude  that  its  completion  has 
been  delayed  beyond  the  anticipated  time.  The  exten- 
sive correspondence,  the  exploration  of  available  sources 
of  information  in  the  books,  pamphlets,  magazines,  and 
newspapers  of  a quarter  of  a century,  and  in  the  scraps 
and  papers  of  historical  collections,  became  an  almost 
interminable  task.  The  examination  and  sifting  of  this 
mass  of  material,  its  verification  amidst  often  conflicting 
testimony,  and  its  final  molding  into  shape,  involved 
time  and  labor  that  can  be  estimated  only  by  those  who 
have  had  similar  experience. 

To  the  many  who  have  kindly  furnished  original  con- 
tributions, to  others  who  have  aided  the  work  by  valuable 
suggestions  and  information,  to  earlier  biographies  of 
Lincoln  — those  of  Raymond,  Holland,  Barrett,  Lamon, 
Carpenter,  and  (the  best  and  latest  of  all)  that  of  Hon. 
I.  N.  Arnold  — hearty  acknowledgment  is  made.  Much 
that  was  offered  could  not  be  used.  In  the  choice  of 
material,  from  whatever  source,  the  purpose  has  been  to 
avoid  mere  opinions  and  eulogies  of  Lincoln  and  to  give 


xiv  PREFACE  TO  FIRST  EDITION 


abundantly  those  actual  experiences,  incidents,  anec- 
dotes, and  reminiscences  which  reveal  the  phases  of  his 
unique  and  striking  personality. 

It  scarcely  need  be  pointed  out  that  this  work  does  not 
attempt  to  give  a connected  history  of  the  Civil  War, 
but  only  to  sketch  briefly  those  episodes  with  which 
Lincoln  is  personally  identified  and  of  which  some  knowl- 
edge is  essential  to  an  understanding  of  his  acts  and 
character.  Others  are  brought  into  prominence  only  as 
they  are  associated  with  the  chief  actor  in  the  great 
drama.  Many  of  them  are  disappearing,  ■ — fading  into 
the  smoky  and  lurid  background.  But  that  colossal 
central  figure,  playing  one  of  the  grandest  roles  ever  set 
upon  the  stage  of  human  life,  becomes  more  impressive 
as  the  scenes  recede. 

F.  F.  B. 

Chicago,  October,  1886. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I page 

Ancestry  — The  Lincolns  in  Kentucky  — Death  of  Lincoln’s  Grand- 
father — Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks  — Mordecai  Lincoln 
— Birth  of  Abraham  Lincoln  — Removal  to  Indiana  — Early 
Years  — Dennis  Hanks  — Lincoln’s  Boyhood  — Death  of  Nancy 
Hanks  — Early  School  Days  — Lincoln’s  First  Dollar  — Presenti- 
ments of  Future  Greatness  — Down  the  Mississippi  — Removal  to 
Illinois  — Lincoln’s  Father  — Lincoln  the  Storekeeper  — First 
Official  Act  — Lincoln’s  Short  Sketch  of  His  Own  Life  ...  1 

CHAPTER  H 

A Turn  in  Affairs  — The  Black  Hawk  War  — A Remarkable  Mili- 
tary Manoeuvre  — Lincoln  Protects  an  Indian  — Lincoln  and 
Stuart  — Lincoln’s  Military  Record  — - Nominated  for  the  Legis- 
lature — Lincoln  a Merchant  — Postmaster  at  New  Salem  — • 


Lincoln  Studies  Law  — Elected  to  the  Legislature  — Personal 
Characteristics  — Lincoln’s  Love  for  Anne  Rutledge  — Close  of 
Lincoln’s  Youth 35 


CHAPTER  III 

Lincoln’s  Beginning  as  a Lawyer  — His  Early  Taste  for  Politics 

— Lincoln  and  the  Lightning-Rod  Man  — ■ Not  an  Aristocrat  — 
Reply  to  Dr.  Early  — A Manly  Letter  — Again  in  the  Illinois 
Legislature  — The  “Long  Nine”  — Lincoln  on  His  Way  to  the 
Capital  — • His  Ambition  in  1836  — • First  Meeting  with  Douglas 

— Removal  of  the  Illinois  Capital  — One  of  Lincoln’s  Early 

Speeches  — Pro-Slavery  Sentiment  in  Illinois  — Lincoln’s  Opposi- 
tion to  Slavery  — Contest  with  General  Ewing  — Lincoln  Lays 
out  a Town  — The  Title  “ Honest  Abe  ” 55 

CHAPTER  IV 

Lincoln’s  Removal  to  Springfield  — A Lawyer  without  Clients  or 
Money  — Early  Discouragements  — Proposes  to  become  a Car- 
penter — “Stuart  & Lincoln,  Attorneys  at  Law”  — “Riding  the 
Circuit”  — Incidents  of  a Trip  Round  the  Circuit  — Pen  Pictures 
of  Lincoln  — Humane  Traits  — Kindness  to  Animals  — Defend- 
ing Fugitive  Slaves  — Incidents  in  Lincoln’s  Life  as  a Lawyer  — 

His  Fondness  for  Jokes  and  Stories 69 


XVI 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  V 

Lincoln  in  the  Legislature  — Eight  Consecutive  Years  of  Service  — 
His  Influence  in  the  House  — Leader  of  the  Whig  Party  in  Illinois 

— Takes  a Hand  in  National  Politics  — Presidential  Election  in 
1840  — A “Log  Cabin”  Reminiscence  — Some  Memorable  Politi- 
cal Encounters  — A Tilt  with  .Douglas  — Lincoln  Facing  a Mob 

— His  Physical  Courage  — Lincoln  as  a Duellist  — The  Affair 


with  General  Shields  — An  Eye-Witness’  Account  of  the  Duel  — 
Courtship  and  Marriage 85 

CHAPTER  VI 

Lincoln  in  National  Politics  — His  Congressional  Aspirations  — Law- 


Partnership  of  Lincoln  and  Herndon  — The  Presidential  Campaign 
of  1844  — Visit  to  Henry  Clay  — Lincoln  Elected  to  Congress  — 
Congressional  Reputation  — Acquaintance  with  Distinguished 
Men  — First  Speech  in  Congress  — “Getting  the  Hang”  of  the 
House  — Lincoln’s  Course  on  the  Mexican  War  — Notable  Speech 
in  Congress  — Ridicule  of  General  Cass  — Bill  for  the  Abolition 
of  Slavery  — Delegate  to  the  Whig  National  Convention  of  1848 

— Stumping  the  Country  for  Taylor  — Advice  to  Young  Politi- 

cians— “Old  Abe”  — A Political  Disappointment  — Lincoln’s 
Appearance  as  an  Office  Seeker  in  Washington  — “A  Divinity 
that  Shapes  Our  Ends” 97 

CHAPTER  VII 

Lincoln  again  in  Springfield  — Back  to  the  Circuit  — His  Personal 
Manners  and  Appearance  — Glimpses  of  Home-Life  — His  Family 

— His  Absent-Mindedness  — A Painful  Subject  — Lincoln  a 
Man  of  Sorrows  — Familiar  Appearance  on  the  Streets  of  Spring- 
field — Scenes  in  the  Law-Office  — Forebodings  of  a “Great  or 
Miserable  End”  — An  Evening  with  Lincoln  in  Chicago  — Lin- 
coln’s Tenderness  to  His  Relatives  — Death  of  His  Father  — • A 
Sensible  Adviser  — Care  of  His  Step-Mother  — Tribute  from  Her  109 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Lincoln  as  a Lawyer  — His  Appearance  in  Court  — Reminiscences 
of  a Law-Student  in  Lincoln’s  Office  — An  “Office  Copy”  of  Byron 

— Novel  Way  of  Keeping  Partnership  Accounts  — Charges  for 
Legal  Services  — Trial  of  Bill  Armstrong  — Lincoln  before  a Jury 

— Kindness  toward  Unfortunate  Clients  — Refusing  to  Defend 

Guilty  Men  — Courtroom  Anecdotes  — Anecdotes  of  Lincoln  at 
the  Bar  — Some  Striking  Opinions  of  Lincoln  as  a Lawyer  . . 125 


CONTENTS 


xvn 


CHAPTER  IX  PAGE 

Lincoln  and  Slavery  — The  Issue  Becoming  More  Sharply  Defined 

— Resistance  to  the  Spread  of  Slavery  — Views  Expressed  by  Lin- 

coln in  1850  — His  Mind  Made  Up  — Lincoln  as  a Party  Leader 
— The  Kansas  Struggle  — Crossing  Swords  with  Douglas  — A 
Notable  Speech  by  Lincoln  — Advice  to  Kansas  Belligerents  — 
Honor  in  Politics  — Anecdote  of  Lincoln  and  Yates  — Contest 
for  the  U.  S.  Senate  in  1855  — Lincoln’s  Defeat  — Sketched  by 
Members  of  the  Legislature 147 

CHAPTER  X 

Birth  of  the  Republican  Party  — Lincoln  One  of  Its  Fathers  — Takes 
His  Stand  with  the  Abolitionists  — The  Bloomington  Convention 

— Lincoln’s  Great  Anti-Slavery  Speech  — A Ratification  Meeting 
of  Three  — The  First  National  Republican  Convention  — Lin- 
coln’s Name  Presented  for  the  Vice-Presidency  — Nomination  of 
Fremont  and  Dayton  — Lincoln  in  the  Campaign  of  1856  — His 
Appearance  and  Influence  on  the  Stump  — Regarded  as  a Dan- 
gerous Man  — His  Views  on  the  Politics  of  the  Future  — First 
Visit  to  Cincinnati  — Meeting  with  Edwin  M.  Stanton  — Stan- 
ton’s First  Impressions  of  Lincoln  — Regards  Him  as  a “Giraffe” 

— A Visit  to  Cincinnati 165 


CHAPTER  XI 

The  Great  Lincoln-Douglas  Debate  — Rivals  for  the  U.  S.  Senate  — 
Lincoln’s  “House-Divided-against-Itself  ” Speech  — An  Inspired 
Oration  — Alarming  His  Friends  — Challenges  Douglas  to  a Joint 
Discussion  — The  Champions  Contrasted  — - Their  Opinions  of 
Each  Other  — Lincoln  and  Douglas  on  the  Stump  — Slavery  the 
Leading  Issue  — Scenes  and  Anecdotes  of  the  Great  Debate  — 
Pen-Picture  of  Lincoln  on  the  Stump  — Humors  of  the  Campaign 
— Some  Sharp  Rejoinders  — Words  of  Soberness  — Close  of  the 
Conflict 177 


CHAPTER  XII 

A Year  of  Waiting  and  Trial  — Again  Defeated  for  the  Senate  — 
Depression  and  Neglect  — Lincoln  Enlarging  His  Boundaries  — 

On  the  Stump  in  Ohio  — A Speech  to  Kentuckians  — ■ Second  Visit 
to  Cincinnati  — A Short  Trip  to  Kansas  — Lincoln  in  New  York 
City  — The  Famous  Cooper  Institute  Speech  — A Strong  and 
Favorable  Impression  — Visits  New  England  — Secret  of  Lin- 
coln’s Success  as  an  Orator  — Back  to  Springfield  — Disposing  of 
a Campaign  Slander  — Lincoln’s  Account  of  His  Visit  to  a Five 
Points  Sunday  School 208 


xviii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIII  pAQB 

Looking  towards  the  Presidency  — The  Illinois  Republican  Con- 
vention of  1860  — A “Send-Off”  for  Lincoln  — The  National 
Republican  Convention  at  Chicago  — Contract  of  the  Leading 
Candidates  — Lincoln  Nominated  — Scenes  at  the  Convention  — 
Sketches  by  Eye-Witnesses  — Lincoln  Hearing  the  News  — The 
Scene  at  Springfield  — A Visit  to  Lincoln  at  His  Home  — Recol- 
lections of  a Distinguished  Sculptor  — Receiving  the  Committee 
of  the  Convention  — Nomination  of  Douglas  — Campaign  of  1860 

— Various  Campaign  Reminiscences  — Lincoln  and  the  Tall 

Southerner  — The  Vote  of  the  Springfield  Clergy  — A Graceful 
Letter  to  the  Poet  Bryant  — “Looking  up  Hard  Spots”  . . . 227 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Lincoln  Chosen  President  — The  Election  of  1860  — The  Waiting- 
Time  at  Springfield  — A Deluge  of  Visitors  — Various  Impres- 
sions of  the  President-Elect  — Some  Queer  Callers  — Looking  over 
the  Situation  with  Friends  — Talks  about  the  Cabinet  — Thurlow 
Weed’s  Visit  to  Springfield  — The  Serious  Aspect  of  National 
Affairs  — The  South  in  Rebellion  — Treason  at  the  National 
Capital  — Lincoln’s  Farewell  Visit  to  His  Mother  — The  Old 
Sign,  “Lincoln  & Herndon”  — The  Last  Day  at  Springfield  — 
Farewell  Speech  to  Friends  and  Neighbors  — Off  for  the  Capital 

— The  Journey  to  Washington  — Receptions  and  Speeches  along 
the  Route  — • At  Cincinnati:  A Hitherto  Unpublished  Speech 
by  Lincoln  — At  Cleveland:  Personal  Descriptions  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lincoln  — At  New  York  City:  Impressions  of  the  New  Presi- 
dent— Perils  of  the  Journey  — The  Baltimore  Plot  — Change 

of  Route  — Arrival  at  the  Capital 250 

CHAPTER  XV 

Lincoln  at  the  Helm  — First  Days  in  Washington  — Meeting  Public 
Men  and  Discussing  Public  Affairs  — The  Inauguration  — The 
Inaugural  Address  — A New  Era  Begun  — Lincoln  in  the  White 
House  — The  First  Cabinet  — The  President  and  the  Office- 
Seekers — Southern  Prejudice  against  Lincoln  — Ominous  Por- 
tents, but  Lincoln  not  Dismayed  — The  President’s  Reception 
Room  — Varied  Impressions  of  the  New  President  — Guarding 
the  White  House 281 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Civil  War  — Uprising  of  the  Nation  — The  President’s  First  Call  for 
Troops  — Response  of  the  Loyal  North  — The  Riots  in  Balti- 
more — Loyalty  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  — Douglas’s  Death  — 
Blockade  of  Southern  Ports  — Additional  War  Measures  — ■ Lincoln 


CONTENTS 


x:x 


Defines  the  Policy  of  the  Government  — His  Conciliatory  Course 
— His  Desire  to  Save  Kentucky  — The  President’s  First  Message 
to  Congress  — Gathering  of  Troops  in  Washington  — Reviews  and 
Parades  — Disaster  at  Bull  Run  — The  President  Visits  the 
Army  — Good  Advice  to  an  Angry  Officer  — A Peculiar  Cabinet 
Meeting  — Dark  Days  for  Lincoln  — A “Black  Mood”  in  the 
White  House  — Lincoln’s  Unfaltering  Courage  — - Relief  in  Story- 
Telling — -A  Pretty  Good  Land  Title  — “Measuring  up”  with 
Charles  Sumner  — General  Scott  “Unable  as  a Politician”  — A 
Good  Drawing-Plaster  — The  New  York  Millionaires  who  Wanted 
a Gunboat  — A Good  Bridge-Builder  — A Sick  Lot  of  Office- 
Seekers  312 

CHAPTER  XVII 

Lincoln’s  Wise  Statesmanship  — The  Mason  and  Slidell  Affair  — 
Complications  with  England  — Lincoln’s  “Little  Story”  on  the 
Trent  Affair  — Building  of  the  “Monitor”  — Lincoln’s  Part  in 
the  Enterprise  — The  President’s  First  Annual  Message  — Dis- 
cussion of  the  Labor  Question  — A President’s  Reception  in 
War  Time  — A Great  Affliction  — Death  in  the  White  House  — - 
Chapters  from  the  Secret  Service  — A Morning  Call  on  the  Presi- 


dent — Goldwin  Smith’s  Impressions  of  Lincoln  — Other  Notable 
Tributes 340 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

Lincoln  and  His  Cabinet  — An  Odd  Assortment  of  Officials  — Mis- 
conceptions of  Rights  and  Duties  — Frictions  and  Misunder- 
standings — The  Early  Cabinet  Meetings  — Informal  Conversa- 
tional Affairs  — - Queer  Attitude  toward  the  War  — Regarded  as  a 
Political  Affair — Proximity  to  Washington  a Hindrance  to  Mili- 
tary Success  — Disturbances  in  the  Cabinet  — A Senate  Com- 
mittee Demands  Seward’s  Removal  from  the  Cabinet  — - Lincoln’s 
Mastery  of  the  Situation  — Harmony  Restored  — Stanton  be- 
comes War  Secretary — ■ Sketch  of  a Remarkable  Man  — Next  to 
Lincoln,  the  Master-Mind  of  the  Cabinet  — Lincoln  the  Dominant 
Power 363 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Lincoln’s  Personal  Attention  to  the  Military  Problems  of  the  War 

— Efforts  to  Push  forward  the  War  — Disheartening  Delays  — 
Lincoln’s  Worry  and  Perplexity  Brightening  Prospects  — - 
Union  Victories  in  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  — Proclamation 
by  the  President  — Lincoln  Wants  to  See  for  Himself  — Visits 
Fortress  Monroe — Witnesses  an  Attack  on  the  Rebel  Ram  “ Merri- 
mae” — The  Capture  of  Norfolk — -Lincoln’s  Account  of  the  Affair 

— Letter  to  McClellan  — Lincoln  and  the  Union  Soldiers  — His 


XX 


CONTENTS 


Tender  Solicitude  for  the  Boys  in  Blue  — Soldiers  Always  Wel- 
come at  the  White  House  — Pardoning  Condemned  Soldiers  — 
Letter  to  a Bereaved  Mother  — The  Case  of  Cyrus  Pringle  — 
Lincoln’s  Love  of  Soldiers’  Humor  — Visiting  the  Soldiers  in 
Trenches  and  Hospitals  — Lincoln  at  “The  Soldiers’  Rest  ” . . 380 

CHAPTER  XX 

Lincoln  and  McClellan  — The  Peninsular  Campaign  of  1862  — Im- 
patience with  McClellan’s  Delay  — Lincoln  Defends  McClellan 
from  Unjust  Criticism  — Some  Harrowing  Experiences  — Mc- 
Clellan Recalled  from  the  Peninsula  — His  Troops  Given  to  Gen- 
eral Pope  — Pope’s  Defeat  at  Manassas  — A Critical  Situation  — 
McClellan  again  in  Command  — Lincoln  Takes  the  Responsi- 
bility— McClellan’s  Account  of  His  Reinstatement  — The  Battle 
of  Antietam  — The  President  Vindicated  — Again  Dissatisfied 
with  McClellan  — Visits  the  Army  in  the  Field  — The  President 
in  the  Saddle  — Correspondence  between  Lincoln  and  McClellan 
— McClellan’s  Final  Removal  — Lincoln’s  Summing-Up  of 
McClellan  — McClellan’s  “Body-Guard  ” 403 


CHAPTER  XXI 

L Lincoln  and  Slavery  — Plan  for  Gradual  ^mancipation  — Anti- 
Slavery  Legislation  in  1862  — Pressure  Brought  to  Bear  on  the 
Executive  — The  Delegation  of  Quakers  — A Visit  from  Chicago 
Clergymen  — Interview  between  Lincoln  and  Channing  — Lin- 
coln and  Horace  Greeley  — The  President’s  Answer  to  “The 
Prayer  of  Twenty  Millions  of  People”  — Conference  between 
Lincoln  and  Greeley  — Emancipation  Resolved  on  — The  Pre- 
liminary Proclamation  — Lincoln’s  Account  of  It  — Preparing  for 
the  Final  Act  — The  Emancipation  Proclamation  — Particulars  of 
the  Great  Document  — ■ Fate  of  the  Original  Draft  — Lincoln’s 
Outline  of  His  Course  and  Views  Regarding  Slavery  .... 


419 


CHAPTER  XXII 

President  and  People  — Society  at  the  White  House  in  1862-3  — 

The  President’s  Informal  Receptions  — A Variety  of  Callers  — 
Characteristic  Traits  of  Lincoln  — His  Ability  to  Say  No  when 
Necessary  — Would  not  Countenance  Injustice  — Good  Sense 
and  Tact  in  Settling  Quarrels  — His  Shrewd  Knowledge  of  Men  — 
Getting  Rid  of  Bores  — Loyalty  to  His  Friends  — Views  of  His 
Own  Position  — “Attorney  for  the  People”  — Desire  that  They 
• Should  Understand  Him  — His  Practical  Kindness  — A Badly 
Scared  Petitioner  — Telling  a Story  to  Relieve  Bad  News  — A 
Breaking  Heart  beneath  the  Smiles  — His  Deeply  Religious 
Nature  — The  Changes  Wrought  by  Grief 449 


CONTENTS 


XXI 


CHAPTER  XXIII  page 

Lincoln’s  Home-Life  in  the  White  House  — Comfort  in  the  Com- 
panionship of  his  Youngest  Son  — “Little  Tad”  the  Bright  Spot 
in  the  White  House  — The  President  and  His  Little  Boy  Review- 
ing the  Army  of  the  Potomac  — Various  Phases  of  Lincoln’s  Char- 
acter — His  Literary  Tastes  — Fondness  for  Poetry  and  Music  — 

His  Remarkable  Memory  — Not  a Latin  Scholar  — Never  Read 
a Novel  — Solace  in  Theatrical  Representation  — Ancedotes  of 
Booth  and  McCullough  — Methods  of  Literary  Work  — Lincoln 
as  an  Orator  — • Caution  in  Impromptu  Speeches  — His  Literary 
Style  — ■ Management  of  His  Private  Correspondence  — Knowl- 
edge of  Woodcraft  — Trees  and  Human  Character  — Exchanging 
Views  with  Professor  Agassiz  — Magnanimity  toward  Opponents 

— Righteous  Indignation  — Lincoln’s  Religious  Nature  . . . 464 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

Trials  of  the  Administration  in  1863  — Hostility  to  War  Measures 

— Lack  of  Confidence  at  the  North  — Opposition  in  Congress  — - 
How  Lincoln  Felt  about  the  “Fire  in  the  Rear”  — Criticisms 
from  Various  Quarters  — Visit  of  “the  Boston  Set”  — The  Gov- 
ernment on  a Tight-Rope — The  Enlistment  of  Colored  Troops 

— Interview  between  Lincoln  and  Frederick  Douglass  — Reverses 
in  the  Field  — Changes  of  Military  Leaders  — From  Burnside  to 
Hooker  — Lincoln’s  First  Meeting  with  “Fighting  Joe”  — The 
President’s  Solicitude  — His  Warning  Letter  to  Hooker  — His 
Visit  to  the  Rappahannock  — Hooker’s  Self-Confidence  the 
“Worst  Thing  about  Him”  — ■ The  Defeat  at  Chancellorsville  — 

The  Failure  of  Our  Generals  — “Wanted,  a Man”  ....  480 


CHAPTER  XXV 

The  Battle-Summer  of  1863  — A Turn  of  the  Tide  — Lee’s  Invasion 
of  Pennsylvania  — A Threatening  Crisis  — Change  of  Union  Com- 
manders — Meade  Succeeds  Hooker  — The  Battle  of  Gettys- 
burg — ■ Lincoln’s  Anxiety  during  the  Fight  — The  Retreat  of 
Lee  — Union  Victories  in  the  Southwest  — • The  Capture  of  Vicks- 
burg — Lincoln’s  Thanks  to  Grant  — Returning  Cheerfulness  — 
Congratulations  to  the  Country  — Improved  State  of  Feeling  at 
the  North  — State  Elections  of  1863  — The  Administration  Sus- 
tained — Dedication  of  the  National  Cemetery  at  Gettysburg  — 
Lincoln’s  Address  — Scenes  and  Incidents  at  the  Dedication  — - 
Meeting  with  Old  John  Burns  — Edward  Everett’s  Impressions 
of  Lincoln 496 


XXII 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XXVI  PAGE 

Lincoln  and  Grant  — Their  Personal  Relations  — Grant’s  Success  at 
Chattanooga  — ■ Appointed  Lieutenant-General  — Grant’s  First 
Visit  to  Washington  — His  Meeting  with  Lincoln  — Lincoln’s 
First  Impressions  of  Grant  — The  First  “General”  Lincoln  had 
Found  — “That  Presidential  Grub”  — True  Version  of  the 
Whiskey  Anecdote  — Lincoln  Tells  Grant  the  Story  of  Sykes’s 
Dog  — “We’d  Better  Let  Mr.  Grant  Have  His  Own  Way”  — 
Grant’s  Estimate  of  Lincoln 516 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

Lincoln’s  Second  Presidential  Term  — His  Attitude  toward  it  — 
Rival  Candidates  for  the  Nomination  — Chase’s  Achillean 
Wrath  — Harmony  Restored  — The  Baltimore  Convention  — 
Decision  “not  to  Swap  Horses  while  Crossing  a Stream”  — The 
Summer  of  1864  — Washington  again  Threatened  — Lincoln 
under  Fire  — Unpopular  Measures  — • The  President’s  Perplex- 
ities and  Trials  — The  Famous  Letter  “To  Whom  It  May  Con- 
cern” — Little  Expectation  of  Re-election  — Dangers  of  Assassi- 
nation — A Thrilling  Experience  — Lincoln’s  Forced  Serenity  — 
“The  Saddest  Man  in  the  World”  — A Break  in  the  Clouds  — 
Lincoln  Vindicated  by  Re-election  — - Cheered  and  Reassured 

— More  Trouble  with  Chase  — Lincoln’s  Final  Disposal  of  Him 

— The  President’s  Fourth  Annual  Message — -His  Position  toward 

the  Rebellion  and  Slavery  Reaffirmed  — Colored  Folks’  Reception 
at  the  White  House  — Passage  of  the  Amendment  Prohibiting 
Slavery  — Lincoln  and  the  Southern  Peace  Commissioners  — The 
Meeting  in  Hampton  Roads  — Lincoln’s  Impression  of  A.  H. 
Stephens  — The  Second  Inauguration  — ■ Second  Inaugural  Ad- 
dress — “ With  Malice  toward  None,  with  Charity  for  All”  — An 
Auspicious  Omen 528 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

Close  of  the  Civil  War  — Last  Acts  in  the  Great  Tragedy  — Lincoln 
at  the  Front  — - A Memorable  Meeting  — Lincoln,  Grant,  Sher- 
man, and  Porter  — Life  on  Shipboard  — ■ Visit  to  Petersburg  — 
Lincoln  and  the  Prisoners  — Lincoln  in  Richmond  — The  Negroes 
Welcoming  Their  “Great  Messiah” — A Warm  Reception  — Lee’s 
Surrender  — Lincoln  Receives  the  News  — Universal  Rejoicing  — 
Lincoln’s  Last  Speech  to  the  Public  — His  Feelings  and  Inten- 
tions toward  the  South  — His  Desire  for  Reconciliation  . . . 561 


CONTENTS  xxiii 

CHAPTER  XXIX  PAGE 

The  Last  of  Earth  — Events  of  the  Last  Day  of  Lincoln’s  Life  — 

The  Last  Cabinet  Meeting  — The  Last  Drive  with  Mrs.  Lincoln 
— Incidents  of  the  Afternoon  — Riddance  to  Jacob  Thompson  — 

A Final  Act  of  Pardon  — The  Fatal  Evening  — The  Visit  to  the 
Theatre  — The  Assassin’s  Shot  — A Scene  of  Horror  — Particu- 
lars of  the  Crime  — The  Dying  President  — A Nation’s  Grief  — 
Funeral  Obsequies  — The  Return  to  Illinois  — At  Rest  in  Oak 
Ridge  Cemetery 582 


INDEX 


601 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Abraham  Lincoln Frontispiece 

From  an  Original  Drawing  by  J.  N.  Marble,  never  before  published 

Francis  F.  Browne facing  page  vi 

Abraham  Lincoln ” ” 1 


THE  EVERY-DAY  LIFE 

OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


CHAPTER  I 


Ancestry  — The  Lincolns  in  Kentucky  — Death  of  Lincoln’s  Grand- 
father — Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks  — Mordecai  Lincoln 
— Birth  of  Abraham  Lincoln  — Removal  to  Indiana  — Early 
Years  — Dennis  Hanks  — Lincoln’s  Boyhood  — Death  of  Nancy 
Hanks  — Early  School  Days  — Lincoln’s  First  Dollar  — Presenti- 
ments of  Future  Greatness  — Down  the  Mississippi  — Removal  to 
Illinois  — Lincoln’s  Father  — Lincoln  the  Storekeeper  — First 
Official  Act  — Lincoln’s  Short  Sketch  of  His  Own  Life. 


HE  year  1809  — that  year  which  gave  William  E. 


A Gladstone  to  England  — was  in  our  country  the 
birth-year  of  him  who  wears  the  most  distinguished  name 
that  has  yet  been  written  on  the  pages  of  American 
history  — Abraham  Lincoln.  In  a rude  cabin  in  a 
clearing,  in  the  wilds  of  that  section  which  was  once  the 
hunting-ground  and  later  the  battle-field  of  the  Cherokees 
and  other  war-like  tribes,  and  which  the  Indians  them- 
selves had  named  Kentucky  because  it  was  “dark  and 
bloody  ground,”  the  great  War  President  of  the  United 
States,  after  whose  name  History  has  written  the  word 
“Emancipator,”  first  saw  the  light.  Born  and  nurtured 
in  penury,  inured  to  hardship,  coarse  food,  and  scanty 
clothing,  — the  story  of  his  youth  is  full  of  pathos.  Small 
wonder  that  when  asked  in  his  later  years  to  tell  something 
of  his  early  life,  he  replied  by  quoting  a line  from  Gray’s 
Elegy: 

“The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor.” 

Lincoln’s  ancestry  has  been  traced  with  tolerable  cer- 
tainty through  five  generations  to  Samuel  Lincoln  of 


2 EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Norfolk  County,  England.  Not  many  years  after  the 
landing  of  the  “Mayflower”  at  Plymouth  — perhaps  in 
the  year  1638  — Samuel  Lincoln’s  son  Mordeeai  had 
emigrated  to  Hingham,  Massachusetts.  Perhaps  because 
he  was  a Quaker,  a then  persecuted  sect,  he  did  not  remain 
long  at  Hingham,  but  came  westward  as  far  as  Berks 
County,  Pennsylvania.  His  son,  John  Lincoln,  went 
southward  from  Pennsylvania  and  settled  in  Rockingham 
County,  Virginia.  Later,  in  1782,  while  the  last  events 
of  the  American  Revolution  were  in  progress,  Abraham 
Lincoln,  son  of  John  and  grandfather  of  President  Lincoln, 
moved  into  Kentucky  and  took  up  a tract  of  government 
land  in  Mercer  County.  In  the  Field  Book  of  Daniel 
Boone,  the  Kentucky  pioneer,  (now  in  possession  of  the 
Wisconsin  Historical  Society),  appears  the  following  note  of 
purchase : 

“Abraham  Lincoln  enters  five  hundred  acres 
of  land  on  a Treasury  warrant  on  the  south 
side  of  Licking  Creek  or  River,  in  Kentucky.” 

At  this  time  Kentucky  was  included  within  the  limits 
and  jurisdiction  of  Virginia.  In  1775  Daniel  Boone  had 
built  a fort  at  Boonesborough,  on  the  Kentucky  river,  and 
it  was  not  far  from  this  site  that  Abraham  Lincoln,  Presi- 
dent Lincoln’s  grandfather,  located  his  claim  and  put  up 
a rude  log  hut  for  the  shelter  of  his  family.  The  pioneers 
of  Kentucky  cleared  small  spaces  and  erected  their  humble 
dwellings.  They  had  to  contend  not  only  with  the  wild 
forces  of  nature,  and  to  defend  themselves  from  the  beasts 
of  the  forest,  — more  to  be  feared  than  either  were  the 
hostile  Indians.  The  settlers  were  filled  with  terror  of 
these  stealthy  foes.  At  home  and  abroad  they  kept  their 
guns  ready  for  instant  use  both  night  and  day.  Many 
a hard  battle  was  fought  between  the  Indian  and  the 
pioneer.  Many  an  unguarded  woodsman  was  shot  down 
without  warning  while  busy  about  his  necessary  work. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  3 


Among  these  was  Abraham  Lincoln.  The  story  of  his 
death  is  related  by  Mr.  I.  N.  Arnold.  “Thomas  Lincoln 
was  with  his  father  in  the  field  when  the  savages  suddenly 
fell  upon  them.  Mordecai  and  Josiah,  his  elder  brothers, 
were  near  by  in  the  forest.  Mordecai,  startled  by  a shot, 
saw  his  father  fall,  and  running  to  the  cabin  seized  the 
loaded  rifle,  rushed  to  one  of  the  loop-holes  cut  through 
the  logs  of  the  cabin,  and  saw  the  Indian  who  had  fired. 
He  had  just  caught  the  boy,  Thomas,  and  was  running 
toward  the  forest.  Pointing  the  rifle  through  the  logs 
and  aiming  at  a medal  on  the  breast  of  the  Indian,  Morde- 
cai fired.  The  Indian  fell,  and  springing  to  his  feet  the 
boy  ran  to  the  open  arms  of  his  mother  at  the  cabin  door. 
Meanwhile  Josiah,  who  had  run  to  the  fort  for  aid,  re- 
turned with  a party  of  settlers.  The  bodies  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  the  Indian  who  had  been  killed  were  brought 
in.  From  this  time  forth  Mordecai  Lincoln  was  the 
mortal  enemy  of  the  Indian,  and  it  is  said  that  he  sacrificed 
many  in  revenge  for  the  murder  of  his  father.” 

In  the  presence  of  such  dangers  Thomas  Lincoln  spent 
his  boyhood.  He  was  born  in  1778,  and  could  not  have 
been  much  more  than  four  years  old  on  that  fatal  day 
when  in  one  swift  moment  his  father  lay  dead  beside  him 
and  vengeance  had  been  exacted  by  his  resolute  boy 
brother.  It  was  such  experiences  as  these  that  made  of 
the  pioneers  the  sturdy  men  they  were.  They  acquired 
habits  of  heroism.  Their  sinews  became  wiry;  their 
nerves  turned  to  steel.  Their  senses  became  sharpened. 
They  grew  alert,  steady,  prompt  and  deft  in  every 
emergency. 

Of  Mordecai  Lincoln,  the  boy  who  had  exhibited  such 
coolness  and  daring  on  the  day  of  his  father’s  death,  many 
stories  are  told  after  he  reached  manhood.  “He  was 
naturally  a man  of  considerable  genius,”  says  one  who 
knew  him.  “He  was  a man  of  great  drollery.  It  would 
almost  make  you  laugh  to  look  at  him.  I never  saw  but 


4 EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


one  other  man  who  excited  in  me  the  same  disposition  to 
laugh,  and  that  was  Artemus  Ward.  Abe  Lincoln  had  a 
very  high  opinion  of  his  uncle,  and  on  one  occasion  re- 
marked that  Uncle  Mord  had  run  off  with  all  the  talents 
of  the  family.” 

Thomas  Lincoln  was  twenty-eight  years  old  before  he 
sought  a wife.  His  choice  fell  upon  a young  woman  of 
twenty-three  whose  name  was  Nancy  Hanks.  Like  her 
husband,  she  was  of  English  descent.  Like  his,  her 
parents  had  followed  in  the  path  of  emigration  from 
Virginia  to  Kentucky.  The  couple  were  married  by  the 
Rev.  Jesse  Head,  a Methodist  minister  located  at  Spring- 
field,  Washington  County,  Kentucky.  They  lived  for  a 
time  in  Elizabethtown,  but  after  the  birth  of  their  first 
child,  Sarah,  they  removed  to  Rock  Spring  farm,  on 
Nolin  Creek,  in  Hardin  (afterward  LaRue)  County.  In 
this  desolate  spot,  a strange  and  unlikely  place  for  the 
birth  of  one  destined  to  play  so  memorable  a part  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  on  the  twelfth  day  of  February, 
1809,  Abraham  Lincoln  the  President  was  born. 

Of  all  the  gross  injustice  ever  done  to  the  memory  of 
woman,  that  which  has  been  accorded  to  Nancy  Hanks 
is  the  greatest.  The  story  which  cast  a shadow  upon  her 
parentage,  and  on  that  of  her  illustrious  son  as  well,  should 
be  sternly  relegated  to  the  oblivion  whence  it  came.  Mr. 
Henry  Watterson,  in  his  brilliant  address  on  Lincoln, 
refers  to  him  as  “that  strange,  incomparable  man,  of  whose 
'parentage  we  neither  know  nor  care.”  In  some  localities, 
particularly  in  Kentucky  and  South  Carolina,  the  rumor 
is  definite  and  persistent  that  the  President  was  not  the 
son  of  Thomas  Lincoln,  the  illiterate  and  thriftless,  but  of 
one  Colonel  Hardin  for  whom  Hardin  County  was  named; 
that  Nancy  Hanks  was  herself  the  victim  of  unlegalized 
motherhood,  the  natural  daughter  of  an  aristocratic, 
wealthy,  and  well-educated  Virginia  planter,  and  that  this 
accounted  for  many  of  her  son’s  characteristics.  The 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  5 


story  has  long  since  been  disproved.  Efforts  to  verify  it 
brought  forth  the  fact  that  it  sprang  into  being  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Civil  War  and  was  evidently  a fabrication 
born  of  the  bitter  spirit  of  the  hour. 

It  was  not  from  his  father,  however,  that  Lincoln  in- 
herited any  of  his  remarkable  traits.  The  dark  coarse 
hair,  the  gray  eyes,  sallow  complexion,  and  brawny 
strength,  which  were  his,  constituted  his  sole  inheritance 
on  the  paternal  side.  But  Nancy  Hanks  was  gentle  and 
refined,  and  would  have  adorned  any  station  in  life.  She 
was  beautiful  in  youth,  with  dark  hair,  regular  features, 
and  soft  sparkling  hazel  eyes.  She  was  unusually  intelli- 
gent, and  read  all  the  books  she  could  obtain.  Says  Mr. 
Arnold:  “She  was  a woman  of  deep  religious  feeling,  of 
the  most  exemplary  character,  and  most  tenderly  and 
affectionately  devoted  to  her  family.  Her  home  indicated 
a love  of  beauty  exceptional  in  the  wild  settlement  in 
which  she  lived,  and  judging  from  her  early  death  it  is 
probable  that  she  was  of  a physique  less  hardy  than  that 
of  those  among  whom  she  lived.  Hers  was  a strong, 
self-reliant  spirit,  which  commanded  the  love  and  respect 
of  the  rugged  people  among  whom  she  dwelt.” 

The  tender  and  reverent  spirit  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
and  the  pensive  melancholy  of  his  disposition,  he  no  doubt 
inherited  from  his  mother.  Amid  the  toil  and  struggle  of 
her  busy  life  she  found  time  not  only  to  teach  him  to  read 
and  write  but  to  impress  upon  him  ineffaceably  that  love 
of  truth  and  justice,  that  perfect  integrity  and  reverence 
for  God,  for  which  he  was  noted  all  his  life.  Lincoln 
always  looked  upon  his  mother  with  unspeakable  affection, 
and  never  ceased  to  cherish  the  memory  of  her  life  and 
teaching. 

A spirit  of  restlessness,  a love  of  adventure,  a longing 
for  new  scenes,  and  possibly  the  hope  of  improving  his 
condition,  led  Thomas  Lincoln  to  abandon  the  Rock 
Spring  farm,  in  the  fall  of  1816,  and  begin  life  over  again 


6 EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


in  the  wilds  of  southern  Indiana.  The  way  thither  lay 
through  unbroken  country  and  was  beset  with  difficulties. 
Often  the  travellers  were  obliged  to  cut  their  road  as  they 
went.  With  the  resolution  of  pioneers,  however,  they 
began  the  journey.  At  the  end  of  several  days  they  had 
gone  but  eighteen  miles.  Abraham  Lincoln  was  then  but 
seven  years  old,  but  was  already  accustomed  to  the  use  of 
axe  and  gun.  He  lent  a willing  hand,  and  bore  his  share 
in  the  labor  and  fatigue  connected  with  the  difficult 
journey.  In  after  years  he  said  that  he  had  never  passed 
through  a more  trying  experience  than  when  he  went  from 
Thompson’s  Ferry  to  Spencer  County,  Indiana.  On 
arriving,  a shanty  for  immediate  use  was  hastily  erected. 
Three  sides  were  enclosed,  the  fourth  remaining  open. 
This  served  as  a home  for  several  months,  when  a more 
comfortable  cabin  was  built.  On  the  eighteenth  of 
October,  1817,  Thomas  Lincoln  entered  a quarter-section 
of  government  land  eighteen  miles  north  of  the  Ohio  river 
and  about  a mile  and  a half  from  the  present  village  of 
Gentryville.  About  a year  later  they  were  followed  by 
the  family  of  Thomas  and  Betsy  Sparrow,  relatives  of 
Mrs.  Lincoln  and  old-time  neighbors  on  the  Rock  Spring 
farm  in  Kentucky.  Dennis  Hanks,  a member  of  the 
Sparrow  household  and  cousin  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  came 
also.  He  has  furnished  some  recollections  of  the  Presi- 
dent’s boyhood  which  are  well  worth  recording.  “Uncle 
Dennis,”  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  was  himself  a striking 
character,  a man  of  original  manners  and  racy  conversa- 
tion. A sketch  of  him  as  he  appeared  to  an  observer  in 
his  later  days  is  thus  given : “ Uncle  Dennis  is  a typical 

Kentuckian,  born  in  Hardin  County  in  1799.  His  face  is 
sun-bronzed  and  ploughed  with  the  furrows  of  time,  but 
he  has  a resolute  mouth,  a firm  grip  of  the  jaws,  and  a 
broad  forehead  above  a pair  of  piercing  eyes.  The  eyes 
seem  out  of  place  in  the  weary,  faded  face,  but  they  glow 
and  flash  like  two  diamond  sparks  set  in  ridges  of  dull 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  7 


gold.  The  face  is  a serious  one,  but  the  play  of  light  in 
the  eyes,  unquenchable  by  time,  betrays  a nature  of  sun- 
shine and  elate  with  life.  A glance  at  the  profile  shows  a 
face  strikingly  Lincoln-like,  — prominent  cheek  bones, 
temple,  nose,  and  chin;  but  best  of  all  is  that  twinkling 
drollery  in  the  eye  that  flashed  in  the  White  House  during 
the  dark  days  of  the  Civil  War.” 

Uncle  Dennis’s  recollections  go  back  to  the  birth  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  To  use  his  own  words:  “I  rikkilect 
I run  all  the  way,  over  two  miles,  to  see  Nancy  Hanks’s 
boy  baby.  Her  name  was  Nancy  Hanks  before  she 
married  Thomas  Lincoln.  ’Twas  common  for  connections 
to  gather  in  them  days  to  see  new  babies.  I held  the  wee 
one  a minute.  I was  ten  years  old,  and  it  tickled  me  to 
hold  the  pulpy,  red  little  Lincoln.  The  family  moved  to 
Indiana,”  he  went  on,  “when  Abe  was  about  nine.  Mr. 
Lincoln  moved  first,  and  built  a camp  of  brush  in  Spencer 
County.  We  came  a year  later,  and  he  had  then  a cabin. 
So  he  gave  us  the  shanty.  Abe  killed  a turkey  the  day  we 
got  there,  and  couldn’t  get  through  tellin’  about  it.  The 
name  was  pronounced  Linkhorn  by  the  folks  then.  We 
was  all  uneducated.  After  a spell  we  learnt  better.  I 
was  the  only  boy  in  the  place  all  them  years,  and  Abe  and 
me  was  always  together.” 

Dennis  Hanks  claims  to  have  taught  his  young  cousin 
to  read,  write,  and  cipher.  “He  knew  his  letters  pretty 
wellish,  but  no  more.  His  mother  had  taught  him.  If 
ever  there  was  a good  woman  on  earth,  she  was  one,  — a 
true  Christian  of  the  Baptist  church.  But  she  died  soon 
after  we  arrived,  and  Abe  was  left  without  a teacher. 
His  father  couldn’t  read  a word.  The  boy  had  only  about 
one  quarter  of  schooling,  hardly  that.  I then  set  in  to 
help  him.  I didn’t  know  much,  but  I did  the  best  I could. 
Sometimes  he  would  write  with  a piece  of  charcoal  or  the 
p’int  of  a burnt  stick  on  the  fence  or  floor.  We  got  a little 
paper  at  the  country  town,  and  I made  some  ink  out  of 


8 EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


blackberry  briar-root  and  a little  copperas  in  it.  It  was 
black,  but  the  copperas  ate  the  paper  after  a while.  I 
made  Abe’s  first  pen  out  of  a turkey-buzzard  feather. 
We  had  no  geese  them  days.  After  he  learned  to  write 
his  name  he  was  scrawlin’  it  everywhere.  Sometimes  he 
would  write  it  in  the  white  sand  down  by  the  crick  bank 
and  leave  it  there  till  the  waves  would  blot  it  out.  He 
didn’t  take  to  books  in  the  beginnin’.  We  had  to  hire  him 
at  first,  but  after  he  got  a taste  on’t  it  was  the  old  story  — 
we  had  to  pull  the  sow’s  ears  to  get  her  to  the  trough,  and 
then  pull  her  tail  to  get  her  away.  He  read  a great  deal, 
and  had  a wonderful  memory  — wonderful.  Never  forgot 
anything.” 

Lincoln’s  first  reading  book  was  Webster’s  Speller. 
“ When  I got  him  through  that,” said  Uncle  Dennis,  “I  had 
only  a copy  of  the  Indiana  Statutes.  Then  Abe  got  hold 
of  a book.  I can’t  rikkilect  the  name.  It  told  a yarn  about 
a feller,  a nigger  or  suthin’,  that  sailed  a flatboat  up  to  a 
rock,  and  the  rock  was  magnetized  and  drawed  all  the  nails 
out,  and  he  got  a duckin’  or  drowned  or  suthin’,  — I 
forget  now.  [It  was  the  “Arabian  Nights.”]  Abe  would 
lay  on  the  floor  with  a chair  under  his  head  and  laugh 
over  them  stories  by  the  hour.  I told  him  they  was  likely 
lies  from  beginnin’  to  end,  but  he  learned  to  read  right  well 
in  them.  I borrowed  for  him  the  Life  of  Washington  and 
the  Speeches  of  Henry  Clay.  They  had  a powerful  in- 
fluence on  him.  He  told  me  afterwards  in  the  White 
House  he  wanted  to  live  like  Washington.  His  speeches 
show  it,  too.  But  the  other  book  did  the  most  amazin’ 
work.  Abe  was  a Democrat,  like  his  father  and  all  of  us, 
when  he  began  to  read  it.  When  he  closed  it  he  was  a 
Whig,  heart  and  soul,  and  he  went  on  step  by  step  till  he 
became  leader  of  the  Republicans.” 

These  reminiscences  of  Dennis  Hanks  give  the  clearest 
and  undoubtedly  the  most  accurate  glimpse  of  Lincoln’s 
youth.  He  says  further,  referring  to  the  boy’s  unusual 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  9 


physical  strength:  “My,  how  he  would  chop!  His  axe 
would  flash  and  bite  into  a sugar-tree  or  sycamore,  and 
down  it  would  come.  If  you  heard  him  fellin’  trees  in  a 
clearin’  you  would  say  there  was  three  men  at  work,  the 
way  the  trees  fell.  Abe  was  never  sassy  or  quarrelsome. 
I’ve  seen  him  walk  into  a crowd  of  sawin’  rowdies  and  tell 
some  droll  yarn  and  bust  them  all  up.  It  was  the  same 
after  he  got  to  be  a lawyer.  All  eyes  was  on  him  whenever 
he  riz.  There  was  suthin  peculiarsome  about  him.  I 
moved  from  Indiana  to  Illinois  when  Abe  did.  I bought  a 
little  improvement  near  him,  six  miles  from  Decatur. 
Here  the  famous  rails  were  split  that  were  carried  round  in 
the  campaign.  They  were  called  his  rails,  but  you  never 
can  tell.  I split  some  of  ’em.  He  was  a master  hand  at 
maulin’  rails.  I heard  him  say  in  a speech  once,  ‘If  I 
didn’t  make  these  I made  many  just  as  good.’  Then  the 
crowd  yelled.” 

One  of  his  playmates  has  furnished  much  that  is  of 
interest  in  regard  to  the  reputation  which  Lincoln  left 
behind  him  in  the  neighborhood  where  he  passed  his  boy- 
hood and  much  of  his  youth.  This  witness  says : “When- 
ever the  court  was  in  session  he  was  a frequent  attendant. 
John  A.  Breckenridge  was  the  foremost  lawyer  in  the 
community,  and  was  famed  as  an  advocate  in  criminal 
cases.  Lincoln  was  sure  to  be  present  when  he  spoke. 
Doing  the  chores  in  the  morning,  he  would  walk  to  Boone- 
ville,  the  county  seat  of  Warwick  County,  seventeen  miles 
away,  then  home  in  time  to  do  the  chores  at  night,  repeat- 
ing this  day  after  day.  The  lawyer  soon  came  to  know 
him.  Years  afterwards,  when  Lincoln  was  President,  a 
venerable  gentleman  one  day  entered  his  office  in  the  White 
House,  and  standing  before  him  said:  ‘Mr.  President,  you 
don’t  know  me.’  Mr.  Lincoln  eyed  him  sharply  for. a 
moment,  and  then  quickly  replied  with  a smile,  ‘Yes  I do. 
You  are  John  A.  Breckenridge.  I used  to  walk  thirty-four 
miles  a day  to  hear  you  plead  law  in  Booneville,  and  listen- 


10  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


ing  to  your  speeches  at  the  bar  first  inspired  me  with  the 
determination  to  be  a lawyer.’  ” 

Lincoln’s  love  for  his  gentle  mother,  and  his  grief  over 
her  untimely  death,  is  a touching  story.  Attacked  by  a 
fatal  disease,  the  life  of  Nancy  Hanks  wasted  slowly  away. 
Day  after  day  her  son  sat  by  her  bed  reading  to  her  such 
portions  of  the  Bible  as  she  desired  to  hear.  At  intervals 
she  talked  to  him,  urging  him  to  walk  in  the  paths  of  honor, 
goodness,  and  truth.  At  last  she  found  rest,  and  her  son 
gave  way  to  grief  that  could  not  be  controlled.  In  an 
opening  in  the  timber,  a short  distance  from  the  cabin, 
sympathizing  friends  and  neighbors  laid  her  body  away 
and  offered  sincere  prayers  above  her  grave.  The  simple 
service  did  not  seem  to  the  son  adequate  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  the  beloved  mother  whose  loss  he  so  sorely 
felt,  but  no  minister  could  be  procured  at  the  time  to  preach 
a funeral  sermon.  In  the  spring,  however,  Abraham 
Lincoln,  then  a lad  of  ten,  wrote  to  Elder  Elkin,  who  had 
lived  near  them  in  Kentucky,  begging  that  he  would  come 
and  preach  a sermon  above  his  mother’s  grave,  and  adding 
that  by  granting  this  request  he  would  confer  a lasting 
favor  upon  his  father,  his  sister,  and  himself.  Although 
it  involved  a journey  of  more  than  a hundred  miles  on 
horseback,  the  good  man  cheerfully  complied.  Once 
more  the  neighbors  and  friends  gathered  about  the  grave 
of  Nancy  Hanks,  and  her  son  found  comfort  in  their 
sympathy  and  their  presence.  The  spot  where  Lincoln’s 
mother  lies  is  now  enclosed  within  a high  iron  fence.  At 
the  head  of  the  grave  a white  stone,  simple,  unaffected, 
and  in  keeping  with  the  surroundings,  has  been  placed. 
It  bears  the  following  inscription : 

NANCY  HANKS  LINCOLN, 

MOTHER  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN, 

DIED  OCTOBER  5,  A.D.  1818. 

AGED  THIRTY-FIVE  YEARS. 

Erected  by  a friend  of  her  martyred  son. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  11 


Lincoln  always  held  the  memory  of  his  mother  in  the 
deepest  reverence  and  affection.  Says  Dr.  J.  G.  Holland: 
“Long  after  her  sensitive  heart  and  weary  hands  had 
crumbled  into  dust,  and  had  climbed  to  life  again  in  forest 
flowers,  he  said  to  a friend,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  ‘All  that 
I am  or  ever  hope  to  be  I owe  to  my  sainted  mother.’” 

The  vacant  place  of  wife  and  mother  was  sadly  felt  in 
the  Lincoln  cabin,  but  before  the  year  1819  had  closed  it 
was  filled  by  a woman  who  nobly  performed  the  duties  of 
her  trying  position.  Thomas  Lincoln  had  known  Mrs. 
Sarah  Johnston  when  both  were  young  and  living  in 
Elizabethtown,  Kentucky.  They  had  married  in  the 
same  year;  and  now,  being  alike  bereaved,  he  persuaded 
her  to  unite  their  broken  households  into  one. 

By  this  union,  a son  and  two  daughters,  John,  Sarah, 
and  Matilda,  were  added  to  the  Lincoln  family.  -All 
dwelt  together  in  perfect  harmony,  the  mother  showing  no 
difference  in  the  treatment  of  her  own  children  and  the 
two  now  committed  to  her  charge.  She  exhibited  a 
special  fondness  for  the  little  Abraham,  whose  precocious 
talents  and  enduring  qualities  she  was  quick  to  apprehend. 
Though  he  never  forgot  the  “angel  mother”  sleeping  on 
the  forest-covered  hill-top,  the  boy  rewarded  with  a pro- 
found and  lasting  affection  the  devoted  care  of  her  who 
proved  a faithful  friend  and  helper  during  the  rest  of  his 
childhood  and  youth.  In  her  later  life  the  step-mother 
spoke  of  him  always  'with  the  tenderest  feeling.  On  one 
occasion  she  said:  “He  never  gave  me  a cross  word  or 
look,  and  never  refused,  in  fact  or  appearance,  to  do 
anything  I requested  of  him.” 

The  child  had  enjoyed  a little  irregular  schooling  while 
living  in  Kentucky,  getting  what  instruction  was  possible 
of  one  Zachariah  Birney,  a Catholic,  who  taught  for  a 
time  close  by  his  father’s  house.  He  also  attended,  as 
convenience  permitted,  a school  kept  by  Caleb  Hazel, 
nearly  four  miles  away,  walking  the  distance  back  and 


12  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


forth  with  his  sister.  Soon  after  coming  under  the  care 
of  his  step-mother,  the  lad  was  afforded  some  similar 
opportunities  for  learning.  His  first  master  in  Indiana 
was  Azel  Dorsey.  The  sort  of  education  dispensed  by 
him,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  given, 
are  described  by  Mr.  Ward  H.  Lamon,  at  one  time 
Lincoln’s  law-partner  at  Springfield,  Illinois.  “Azel 
Dorsey  presided  in  a small  house  near  the  Little  Pigeon 
Creek  meeting-house,  a mile  and  a half  from  the  Lincoln 
cabin.  It  was  built  of  unhewn  logs,  and  had  holes  for  ' 
windows,  in  which  greased  paper  served  for  glass.  The 
roof  was  just  high  enough  for  a man  to  stand  erect.  Here 
the  boy  was  taught  reading,  writing,  and  ciphering. 
They  spelt  in  classes,  and  ‘trapped’  up  and  down.  These 
juvenile  contests  were  very  exciting  to  the  participants, 
and  it  is  said  by  the  survivors  that  Abe  was  even  then  the 
equal,  if  not  the  superior,  of  any  scholar  in  his  class.  The 
next  teacher  was  Andrew  Crawford.  Mrs.  Gentry  says 
he  began  teaching  in  the  neighborhood  in  the  winter  of 
1822-3.  Crawford  ‘kept  school’  in  the  same  little  school- 
house  which  had  been  the  scene  of  Dorsey’s  labors,  and 
the  windows  were  still  adorned  with  the  greased  leaves  of 
old  copybooks  that  had  come  down  from  Dorsey’s  time. 
Abe  was  now  in  his  fifteenth  year,  and  began  to  exhibit 
symptoms  of  gallantry  toward  the  other  sex.  He  was 
growing  at  a tremendous  rate,  and  two  years  later  attained 
his  full  height  of  six  feet  and  four  inches.  He  wore  low 
shoes,  buckskin  breeches,  linsey-woolsey  shirt,  and  a cap 
made  of  the  skin  of  a ’possum  or  a coon.  The  breeches 
clung  close  to  his  thighs  and  legs,  and  failed  by  a large 
space  to  meet  the  tops  of  his  shoes.  He  would  always 
come  to  school  thus,  good-humoredly  and  laughing.  He 
was  always  in  good  health,  never  sick,  had  an  excellent 
constitution  and  took  care  of  it.” 

Crawford  taught  “manners”  — a feature  of  backwoods 
education  to  which  Dorsey  had  not  aspired.  Crawford 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  13 


had  doubtless  introduced  it  as  a refinement  which  would 
put  to  shame  the  humble  efforts  of  his  predecessor.  One 
of  the  scholars  was  required  to  retire,  and  then  to  re-enter 
the  room  as  a polite  gentleman  is  supposed  to  enter  a 
drawing-room.  He  was  received  at  the  door  by  another 
scholar  and  conducted  from  bench  to  bench  until  he  had 
been  introduced  to  all  the  young  ladies  and  gentlemen  in 
the  room.  Lincoln  went  through  the  ordeal  countless 
times.  If  he  took  a serious  view  of  the  performance  it 
must  have  put  him  to  exquisite  torture,  for  he  was  con- 
scious that  he  was  not  a perfect  type  of  manly  beauty. 
If,  however,  it  struck  him  as  at  all  funny,  it  must  have 
filled  him  with  unspeakable  mirth  to  be  thus  gravely  led 
about,  angular  and  gawky,  under  the  eyes  of  the  precise 
Crawford,  to  be  introduced  to  the  boys  and  girls  of  his 
acquaintance. 

While  in  Crawford’s  school  the  lad  wrote  his  first  com- 
positions. The  exercise  was  not  required  by  the  teacher, 
but,  as  Nat  Grigsby  has  said,  “he  took  it  up  on  his  own 
account.”  At  first  he  wrote  only  short  sentences  against 
cruelty  to  animals,  but  at  last  came  forward  with  a regular 
composition  on  the  subject.  He  was  annoyed  and  pained 
by  the  conduct  of  the  boys  who  were  in  the  habit  of  catch- 
ing terrapins  and  putting  coals  of  fire  on  their  backs. 
“He  would  chide  us,”  says  Grigsby,  “tell  us  it  was  wrong, 
and  would  write  against  it.” 

One  who  has  had  the  privilege  of  looking  over  some  of 
the  boyish  possessions  of  Lincoln  says:  “Among  the  most 
touching  relics  which  I saw  was  an  old  copy-book  in  which, 
at  the  age  of  fourteen,  Lincoln  had  taught  himself  to  write 
and  cipher.  Scratched  in  his  boyish  hand  on  the  first 
page  were  these  lines: 

Abraham  Lincoln 
his  hand  and  pen. 
he  will  be  good  but 
god  knows  When  ” 


14  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


The  boy’s  thirst  for  learning  was  not  to  be  satisfied  with 
the  meagre  knowledge  furnished  in  the  miserable  schools 
he  was  able  to  attend  at  long  intervals.  His  step-mother 
says:  “He  read  diligently.  He  read  everything  he  could 
lay  his  hands  on,  and  when  he  came  across  a passage  that 
struck  him  he  would  write  it  down  on  boards,  if  he  had 
no  paper,  and  keep  it  until  he  had  got  paper.  Then  he 
would  copy  it,  look  at  it,  commit  it  to  memory,  and 
repeat  it.  He  kept  a scrap-book  into  which  he  copied 
everything  which  particularly  pleased  him.”  Mr.  Arnold 
further  states:  “There  were  no  libraries  and  but  few 
books  in  the  back  settlements  in  which  Lincoln  lived. 
If  by  chance  he  heard  of  a book  that  he  had  not  read  he 
would  walk  miles  to  borrow  it.  Among  other  volumes 
borrowed  from  Crawford  was  Weems’s  Life  of  Washington. 
He  read  it  with  great  earnestness.  He  took  it  to  bed  with 
him  in  the  loft  and  read  till  his  ‘ nubbin’  of  candle  burned 
out.  Then  he  placed  the  book  between  the  logs  of  the 
cabin,  that  it  might  be  near  as  soon  as  it  was  light  enough 
in  the  morning  to  read.  In  the  night  a heavy  rain  came 
up  and  he  awoke  to  find  his  book  wet  through  and  through. 
Drying  it  as  well  as  he  could,  he  went  to  Crawford  and 
told  him  of  the  mishap.  As  he  had  no  money  to  pay  for 
the  injured  book,  he  offered  to  work  out  the  value  of  it. 
Crawford  fixed  the  price  at  three  days’  work,  and  the  future 
President  pulled  corn  for  three  days,  thus  becoming  owner 
of  the  coveted  volume.”  In  addition  to  this,  he  was  for- 
tunate enough  to  get  hold  of  dEsop’s  Fables,  Pilgrim’s 
Progress,  and  the  lives  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Henry 
Clay.  He  made  these  books  his  own  by  conning  them  over 
and  over,  copying  the  more  impressive  portions  until  they 
were  firmly  fixed  in  his  memory.  Commenting  upon  the 
value  of  this  sort  of  mental  training,  Dr.  Holland  wisely 
remarks:  “Those  who  have  witnessed  the  dissipating 
effect  of  many  books  upon  the  minds  of  modern  children 
do  not  find  it  hard  to  believe  that  Abraham  Lincoln’s 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  15 


poverty  of  books  was  the  wealth  of  his  life.  The  few  he 
had  did  much  to  perfect  the  teaching  which  his  mother 
had  begun,  and  to  form  a character  which  for  quaint 
simplicity,  earnestness,  truthfulness,  and  purity,  has  never 
been  surpassed  among  the  historic  personages  of  the 
world.” 

It  may  well  have  been  that  Lincoln’s  lack  of  books  and 
the  means  of  learning  threw  him  upon  his  ora  resources 
and  led  him  into  those  modes  of  thought,  of  quaint  and  apt 
illustration  and  logical  reasoning,  so  peculiar  to  him.  At 
any  rate,  it  is  certain  that  books  can  no  more  make  a 
character  like  Lincoln  than  they  can  make  a poet  like 
Shakespeare. 

“By  books  may  Learning  sometimes  befall, 

But  Wisdom  never  by  books  at  all,”  — 

a saying  peculiarly  true  of  a man  such  as  Lincoln. 

A testimonial  to  the  influence  of  this  early  reading  upon 
his  childish  mind  was  given  by  Lincoln  himself  many 
years  afterwards.  While  on  his  way  to  Washington  to 
assume  the  duties  of  the  Presidency  he  passed  through 
Trenton,  New  Jersey,  and  in  a speech  made  in  the  Senate 
Chamber  at  that  place  he  said:  “May  I be  pardoned  if, 
upon  this  occasion,  I mention  that  away  back  in  my  child- 
hood, in  the  earliest  days  of  my  being  able  to  read,  I got 
hold  of  a small  book  — such  a one  as  few  of  the  younger 
members  have  seen,  Weems’s  Life  of  Washington.  I 
remember  all  the  accounts  there  given  of  the  battle-fields 
and  struggles  for  the  liberties  of  the  country;  and  none 
fixed  themselves  upon  my  imagination  so  deeply  as  the 
struggle  here  at  Trenton.  The  crossing  of  the  river,  the 
contest  with  the  Hessians,  the  great  hardships  endured 
at  that  time,  all  fixed  themselves  in  my  memory  more  than 
any  single  Revolutionary  event ; and  you  all  know,  for  you 
have  all  been  boys,  how  these  early  impressions  last  longer 
than  any  others.  I recollect  thinking  then,  boy  even 


16  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


though  I was,  that  there  must  have  been  something  more 
than  common  that  these  men  struggled  for.  I am  exceed- 
ingly anxious  that  that  thing  which  they  struggled  for, 
that  something  even  more  than  National  Independence, 
that  something  that  held  out  a great  promise  to  all  the 
people  of  the  world  for  all  time  to  come,  I am  exceedingly 
anxious  that  this  Union,  the  Constitution,  and  the  liberties 
of  the  people,  shall  be  perpetuated  in  accordance  with  the 
original  idea  for  which  that  struggle  was  made.” 

Another  incident  in  regard  to  the  ruined  volume  which 
Lincoln  had  borrowed  from  Crawford  is  related  by  Mr. 
Lamon.  “For  a long  time,”  he  says,  “there  was  one 
person  in  the  neighborhood  for  whom  Lincoln  felt  a decided 
dislike,  and  that  was  Josiah  Crawford,  who  had  made  him 
pull  fodder  for  three  days  to  pay  for  Weems’s  Washington. 
On  that  score  he  was  hurt  and  mad,  and  declared  he  would 
have  revenge.  But  being  a poor  boy,  a fact  of  which 
Crawford  had  already  taken  shameful  advantage  when  he 
extorted  three  days’  labor,  Abe  was  glad  to  get  work  any- 
where, and  frequently  hired  out  to  his  old  adversary. 
His  first  business  in  Crawford’s  employ  was  daubing  the 
cabin,  which  was  built  of  unhewn  logs  with  the  bark  on. 
In  the  loft  of  this  house,  thus  finished  by  his  own  hands, 
he  slept  for  many  weeks  at  a time.  He  spent  his  evenings 
as  he  did  at  home,  — writing  on  wooden  shovels  or  boards 
with  ‘a  coal,  or  keel,  from  the  branch.’  This  family  was 
rich  in  the  possession  of  several  books,  which  Abe  read 
through  time  and  again,  according  to  his  usual  custom. 
One  of  the  books  was  the  ‘Kentucky  Preceptor,’  from 
which  Mrs.  Crawford  insists  that  he  ‘learned  his  school  ora- 
tions, speeches,  and  pieces  to  write.’  She  tells  us  also  that 
‘Abe  was  a sensitive  lad,  never  coming  where  he  was  not 
wanted’ ; that  he  always  lifted  his  hat,  and  bowed,  when 
he  made  his  appearance;  and  that  ‘he  was  tender  and  kina,’ 
like  his  sister,  who  was  at  the  same  time  her  maid-of-all- 
work.  His  pay  was  twenty-five  cents  a day;  ‘and  when 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  17 


he  missed  time,  he  would  not  charge  for  it.’  This  latter 
remark  of  Mrs.  Crawford  reveals  the  fact  that  her  husband 
was  in  the  habit  of  docking  Abe  on  his  miserable  wages 
whenever  he  happened  to  lose  a few  minutes  from  steady 
work.  The  time  came,  however,  when  Lincoln  got  his 
revenge  for  all  this  petty  brutality.  Crawford  was  as 
ugly  as  he  was  surly.  His  nose  was  a monstrosity  — long 
and  crooked,  with  a huge  mis-shapen  stub  at  the  end, 
surmounted  by  a host  of  pimples,  and  the  whole  as  blue 
as  the  usual  state  of  Mr.  Crawford’s  spirits.  Upon  this 
member  Abe  levelled  his  attacks,  in  rhyme,  song,  and 
chronicle;  and  though  he  could  not  reduce  the  nose  he 
gave  it  a fame  as  wide  as  to  the  Wabash  and  the  Ohio. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  he  learned  the  art  of  making  the 
doggerel  rhymes  in  which  he  celebrated  Crawford’s  nose 
from  the  study  of  Crawford’s  own  ‘ Kentucky  Preceptor.’  ” 

Lincoln’s  sister  Sarah  was  warmly  attached  to  him,  but 
was  taken  from  his  companionship  at  an  early  age.  It  is 
said  that  her  face  somewhat  resembled  his,  that  in  repose 
it  had  the  gravity  which  they  both  inherited  from  their 
mother,  but  it  was  capable  of  being  lighted  almost  into 
beauty  by  one  of  her  brother’s  ridiculous  stories  or  sallies  of 
humor.  She  was  a modest,  plain,  industrious  girl,  and  was 
remembered  kindly  by  all  who  knew  her.  She  was  mar- 
ried to  Aaron  Grigsby  at  eighteen,  and  died  a year  later. 
Like  her  brother,  she  occasionally  worked  at  the  houses 
of  the  neighbors.  She  lies  buried,  not  with  her  mother, 
but  in  the  yard  of  the  old  Pigeon  Creek  meeting-house. 

A story  which  belongs  to  this  period  was  told  by 
Lincoln  himself  to  Mr.  Seward  and  a few  friends  one 
evening  in  the  Executive  Mansion  at  Washington.  The 
President  said:  “Seward,  you  never  heard,  did  you, 
how  I earned  my  first  dollar?”  “No,”  rejoined  Mr. 
Seward.  “Well,”  continued  Mr.  Lincoln,  “I  belonged, 
you  know,  to  what  they  call  down  South  the  ‘scrubs.’ 
We  had  succeeded  in  raising,  chiefly  by  my  labor,  sufficient 


18  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


produce,  as  I thought,  to  justify  me  in  taking  it  down 
the  river  to  sell.  After  much  persuasion,  I got  the  consent 
of  mother  to  go,  and  constructed  a little  flatboat,  large 
enough  to  take  a barrel  or  two  of  things  that  we  had 
gathered,  with  myself  and  the  bundle,  down  to  the  South- 
ern market.  A steamer  was  coming  down  the  river.  We 
have,  you  know,  no  wharves  on  the  Western  streams;  and 
the  custom  was,  if  passengers  were  at  any  of  the  landings, 
for  them  to  go  out  in  a boat,  the  steamer  stopping  and 
taking  them  on  board.  I was  contemplating  my  new 
flatboat,  and  wondering  whether  I could  make  it  stronger 
or  improve  it  in  any  way,  when  two  men  came  down  to 
the  shore  in  carriages  with  trunks.  Looking  at  the 
different  boats,  they  singled  out  mine  and  asked,  ‘Who 
owns  this?’  I answered  somewhat  modestly,  ‘I  do.’ 
‘Will  you  take  US’  and  our  trunks  to  the  steamer?’  asked 
one  of  them.  ‘Certainly,’ said  I.  I was  glad  to  have  the 
chance  of  earning  something.  I supposed  that  each  of 
them  would  give  me  two  or  three  bits.  The  trunks  were 
put  on  my  flatboat,  the  passengers  seated  themselves  on 
the  trunks,  and  I sculled  them  out  to  the  steamer.  They 
got  on  board,  and  I lifted  up  their  heavy  trunks  and  put 
them  on  the  deck.  The  steamer  was  about  to  put  on 
steam  again,  when  I called  out  to  them  that  they  had 
forgotten  to  pay  me.  Each  man  took  from  his  pocket  a 
silver  half-dollar  and  threw  it  into  the  bottom  of  my  boat. 
I could  scarcely  believe  my  eyes.  Gentlemen,  you  may 
think  it  a little  thing,  and  in  these  days  it  seems  to  me  a 
trifle;  but  it  was  a great  event  in  my  life.  I could  scarcely 
credit  that  I,  a poor  boy,  had  earned  a dollar  in  less  than 
a day,  — that  by  honest  work  I had  earned  a dollar.  The 
world  seemed  wider  and  fairer  to  me.  I was  a more 
hopeful  and  confident  being  from  that  time.” 

Notwithstanding  the  limitations  of  every  kind  which 
hemmed  in  the  life  of  young  Lincoln,  he  had  an  instinctive 
feeling,  born  perhaps  of  his  eager  ambition,  that  he  should 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  19 


one  day  attain  an  exalted  position.  The  first  betrayal  of 
this  premonition  is  thus  related  by  Mr.  Arnold: 

“Lincoln  attended  court  at  Boone ville,  to  witness  a 
murder  trial,  at  which  one  of  the  Breckenridges  from 
Kentucky  made  a very  eloquent  speech  for  the  defense. 
The  boy  was  carried  away  with  admiration,  and  was  so 
enthusiastic  that,  although  a perfect  stranger,  he  could 
not  resist  expressing  his  admiration  to  Breckenridge. 
He  wanted  to  be  a lawyer.  He  went  home,  dreamed  of 
courts,  and  got  up  mock  trials,  at  which  he  would  defend 
imaginary  prisoners.  Several  of  his  companions  at  this 
period  of  his  life,  as  well  as  those  who  knew  him  after  he 
went  to  Illinois,  declare  that  he  was  often  heard  to  say, 
not  in  joke,  but  seriously,  as  if  he  were  deeply  impressed 
rather  than  elated  with  the  idea:  ‘I  shall  some  day  be 
President  of  the  United  States.’  It  is  stated  by  many 
of  Lincoln’s  old  friends  that  he  often  said  while  still 
an  obscure  man,  ‘Some  day  I shall  be  President.’  He 
undoubtedly  had  for  years  some  presentiment  of  this.” 

At  seventeen  Lincoln  wrote  a clear,  neat,  legible  hand, 
was  quick  at  figures  and  able  to  solve  easily  any  arithmet- 
ical problem  not  going  beyond  the  “Rule  of  Three.”  Mr. 
Arnold,  noting  these  facts,  says:  “I  have  in  my  posses- 
sion a few  pages  from  his  manuscript  ‘Book  of  Examples 
in  Arithmetic.’  One  of  these  is  dated  March  1,  1826, 
and  headed  ‘Discount,’  and  then  follows,  in  his  careful 
handwriting:  ‘A  definition  of  Discount,’  ‘Rules  for  its 
computation,’  ‘Proofs  and  Various  Examples,’  worked 
out  in  figures,  etc.;  then  ‘Interest  on  money’  is  treated 
in  the  same  way,  all  in  his  own  handwriting.  I doubt 
whether  it  would  be  easy  to  find  among  scholars  of  our 
common  or  high  schools,  or  any  school  of  boys  of  the  age 
of  seventeen,  a better  written  specimen  of  this  sort  of 
work,  or  a better  knowledge  of  figures  than  is  indicated  by 
this  book  of  Lincoln’s,  written  at  the  age  of  seventeen.” 

In  March,  1828,  Lincoln  went  to  work  for  old  Mr. 


20  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Gentry,  the  founder  of  Gentry ville.  “Early  the  next 
month  the  old  gentleman  furnished  his  son  Allen  with  a 
boat  and  a cargo  of  bacon  and  other  produce  with  which 
he  was  to  go  to  New  Orleans  unless  the  stock  should  be 
sooner  disposed  of.  Abe,  having  been  found  faithful  and 
efficient,  was  employed  to  accompany  the  young  man. 
He  was  paid  eight  dollars  per  month,  and  ate  and  slept  on 
board.”  The  entire  business  of  the  trip  was  placed  in 
Abraham’s  hands.  The  fact  tells  its  own  story  touching 
the  young  man’s  reputation  for  capacity  and  integrity. 
He  had  never  made  the  trip,  knew  nothing  of  the  journey, 
was  unaccustomed  to  business  transactions,  had  never 
been  much  upon  the  river,  but  his  tact  and  ability  and 
honesty  were  so  far  trusted  that  the  trader  was  willing  to 
risk  the  cargo  in  his  care.  The  delight  with  which  the 
youth  swung  loose  from  the  shore  upon  his  clumsy  craft, 
with  the  prospect  of  a ride  of  eighteen  hundred  miles 
before  him,  and  a vision  of  the  great  world  of  which  he  had 
read  and  thought  so  much,  may  be  imagined.  At  this 
time  he  had  become  a very  tall  and  powerful  young  man. 
He  had  reached  the  height  of  six  feet  and  four  inches,  a 
length  of  trunk  and  limb  remarkable  even  among  the  tall 
race  of  pioneers  to  which  he  belonged. 

Just  before  the  river  expedition,  Lincoln  had  walked 
with  a young  girl  down  to  the  river  to  show  her  his  flat- 
boat.  She  relates  a circumstance  of  the  evening  which 
is  full  of  significance.  “We  were  sitting  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ohio,  or  rather  on  the  boat  he  had  made.  I said  to 
Abe  that  the  sun  was  going  down.  He  said  to  me,  ‘That’s 
not  so;  it  don’t  really  go  down;  it  seems  so.  The  earth 
turns  from  west  to  east  and  the  revolution  of  the  earth 
carries  us  under;  we  do  the  sinking,  as  you  call  it.  The 
sun,  as  to  us,  is  comparatively  still;  the  sun’s  sinking  is 
only  an  appearance.’  I replied,  ‘Abe,  what  a fool  you 
are!’  I know  now  that  I was  the  fool,  not  Lincoln.  I 
am  now  thoroughly  satisfied  that  he  knew  the  general 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  21 


laws  of  astronomy  and  the  movements  of  the  heavenly 
bodies.  He  was  better  read  then  than  the  world  knows 
or  is  likely  to  know  exactly.  No  man  could  talk  to  me  as 
he  did  that  night  unless  he  had  known  something  of 
geography  as  well  as  astronomy.  He  often  commented  or 
talked  to  me  about  what  he  had  read,  — seemed  to  read 
it  out  of  the  book  as  he  went  along.  He  was  the  learned 
boy  among  us  unlearned  folks.  He  took  great  pains  to 
explain;  could  do  it  so  simply.  He  was  diffident,  too.” 

But  another  change  was  about  to  come  into  the  life  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  In  1830  his  father  set  forth  once  more 
on  the  trail  of  the  emigrant.  He  had  become  dissatisfied 
with  his  location  in  southern  Indiana,  and  hearing  favor- 
able reports  of  the  prairie  lands  of  Illinois  hoped  for  better 
fortunes  there.  He  parted  with  his  farm  and  prepared  for 
the  journey  to  Macon  County,  Illinois.  Abraham  visited 
the  neighbors  and  bade  them  goodbye;  but  on  the  morning 
selected  for  their  departure,  when  it  came  time  to  start, 
he  was  missing.  Lie  was  found  weeping  at  his  mother’s 
grave,  whither  he  had  gone  as  soon  as  it  was  light.  The 
thought  of  leaving  her  behind  filled  him  with  unspeakable 
anguish.  The  household  goods  were  loaded,  the  oxen 
yoked,  the  family  got  into  the  covered  wagon,  and  Lincoln 
took  his  place  by  the  oxen  to  drive.  One  of  the  neighbors 
has  said  of  this  incident:  “Well  do  I remember  the  day 
the  Lincolns  left  for  Illinois.  Little  did  I think  that  I 
was  looking  at  a boy  who  would  one  day  be  President  of 
the  United  States!” 

An  interesting  personal  sketch  of  Thomas  Lincoln  is 
given  by  Mr.  George  B.  Balch,  who  was  for  many  years  a 
resident  of  Lerna,  Coles  County,  Illinois.  Among  other 
things  he  says:  “Thomas  Lincoln,  father  of  the  great 
President,  was  called  Uncle  Tommy  by  his  friends  and 
Old  Tom  Lincoln  by  other  people.  His  property  consisted 
of  an  old  horse,  a pair  of  oxen  and  a few  sheep  — seven  or 
eight  head.  My  father  bought  two  of  the  sheep,  they 


22  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


being  the  first  we  owned  after  settling  in  Illinois.  Thomas 
Lincoln  was  a large,  bulky  man,  six  feet  tall  and  weighing 
about  two  hundred  pounds.  He  was  large-boned,  coarse- 
featured,  had  a large  blunt  nose,  florid  complexion,  light 
sandy  hair  and  whiskers.  He  was  slow  in  speech  and  slow 
in  gait.  His  whole  appearance  denoted  a man  of  small 
intellect  and  less  ambition.  It  is  generally  supposed  that 
he  was  a farmer;  and  such  he  was,  if  one  who  tilled  so 
little  land  by  such  primitive  modes  could  be  so  called. 
He  never  planted  more  than  a few  acres,  and  instead  of 
gathering  and  hauling  his  crop  in  a wagon  he  usually 
carried  it  in  baskets  or  large  trays.  He  was  uneducated, 
illiterate,  content  with  living  from  hand  to  mouth.  His 
death  occurred  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  January,  1851. 
He  was  buried  in  a neighboring  country  graveyard,  about 
a mile  north  of  Janesville,  Coles  County.  There  was 
nothing  to  mark  the  place  of  his  burial  until  February, 
1861,  when  Abraham  Lincoln  paid  a last  visit  to  his  grave 
just  before  he  left  Springfield  for  Washington.  On  a piece 
of  oak  board  he  cut  the  letters  T.  L.  and  placed  it  at  the 
head  of  the  grave.  It  was  carried  away  by  some  relic- 
hunter,  and  the  place  remained  as  before,  with  nothing 
to  mark  it,  until  the  spring  of  1876.  Then  the  writer, 
fearing  that  the  grave  of  Lincoln’s  father  would  become 
entirely  unknown,  succeeded  in  awakening  public  opinion 
on  the  subject.  Soon  afterward  a marble  shaft  twelve 
feet  high  was  erected,  bearing  on  its  western  face  this 
inscription : 

THOMAS  LINCOLN 
FATHER  OF 

THE  MARTYRED  PRESIDENT. 

BORN 

JAN.  6th,  1778 

DIED 

jan.  15th,  1851. 


LINCOLN. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  23 


“And  now,”  concluded  Mr.  Balch,  “I  have  given  all 
that  can  be  known  of  Thomas  Lincoln.  I have  written 
impartially  and  with  a strict  regard  to  facts  which  can  be 
substantiated  by  many  of  the  old  settlers  in  this  county. 
Thomas  Lincoln  was  a harmless  and  honest  man.  Beyond 
this,  one  will  search  in  vain  for  any  ancestral  clue  to  the 
greatness  of  Abraham  Lincoln.” 

After  reaching  the  new  home  in  Illinois,  young  Lincoln 
worked  with  his  father  until  things  were  in  shape  for 
comfortable  living.  He  helped  to  build  the  log  cabin, 
break  up  the  new  land  and  fence  it  in,  splitting  the  rails 
with  his  own  hands.  It  was  these  very  rails  over  which 
so  much  sentiment  was  expended  years  afterward  at  an 
important  epoch  in  Lincoln’s  political  career.  During  the 
sitting  of  the  State  Convention  at  Decatur,  a banner 
attached  to  two  of  these  rails  and  bearing  an  appropriate 
inscription  was  brought  into  the  assemblage  and  formally 
presented  to  that  body  amid  a scene  of  unparalleled 
enthusiasm.  After  that  they  were  in  demand  in  every 
State  of  the  Union  in  which  free  labor  was  honored.  They 
were  borne  in  processions  by  the  people,  and  hailed  by 
hundreds  of  thousands  as  a symbol  of  triumph  and  a 
glorious  vindication  of  freedom  and  of  the  right  and 
dignity  of  labor.  These,  however,  were  not  the  first  rails 
made  by  Lincoln.  He  was  a practiced  hand  at  the 
business.  As  a memento  of  his  pioneer  accomplishment 
he  preserved  in  later  years  a cane  made  from  a rail  which 
he  had  split  on  his  father’s  farm. 

The  next  important  record  of  Lincoln’s  career  connects 
him  with  Mr.  Denton  Offutt.  The  circumstances  which 
brought  him  into  this  relation  are  thus  narrated  by  Mr.  J. 
H.  Barrett:  “While  there  was  snow  on  the  ground,  at  the 
close  of  the  year  1830,  or  early  in  1831,  a man  came  to  that 
part  of  Macon  County  where  young  Lincoln  was  living, 
in  pursuit  of  hands  to  aid  him  in  a flatboat  voyage  down  the 
Mississippi.  The  fact  was  known  that  the  youth  had  once 


24  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


made  such  a trip,  and  his  services  were  sought  for  this 
occasion.  As  one  who  had  his  own  subsistence  to  earn, 
with  no  capital  but  his  hands,  he  accepted  the  proposition 
made  him.  Perhaps  there  was  something  of  his  inherited 
and  acquired  fondness  for  exciting  adventure  impelling 
him  to  this  decision.  With  him  were  also  employed  his 
former  fellow-laborer,  John  Hanks,  and  a son  of  his  step- 
mother named  John  Johnston.  In  the  spring  of  1831 
Lincoln  set  out  to  fulfil  his  engagement.  The  floods  had 
so  swollen  the  streams  that  the  Sangamon  country  was  a 
vast  sea  before  him.  His  first  entrance  into  that  county 
was  over  these  wide-spread  waters  in  a canoe.  The  time 
had  come  to  join  his  employer  on  his  journey  to  New 
Orleans,  but  the  latter  had  been  disappointed  by  another 
person  on  whom  he  relied  to  furnish  him  a boat  on  the 
Illinois  river.  Accordingly  all  hands  set  to  work,  and 
themselves  built  a boat  on  that  river,  for  their  purposes. 
This  done,  they  set  out  on  their  long  trip,  making  a 
successful  voyage  to  New  Orleans  and  back.” 

Mr.  Herndon  says : “ Mr.  Lincoln  came  into  Sangamon 

County  down  the  North  Fork  of  the  Sangamon  river,  in 
a frail  canoe,  in  the  spring  of  1831.  I can  see  from 
where  I write  the  identical  place  where  he  cut  the  tim- 
bers for  his  flatboat,  which  he  built  at  a little  village 
called  Sangamon  Town,  seven  miles  northwest  of  Spring- 
field.  Here  he  had  it  loaded  with  corn,  wheat,  bacon,  and 
other  provisions  destined  for  New  Orleans,  at  which  place 
he  landed  in  the  month  of  May,  1831.  He  returned  home 
in  June  of  that  year,  and  finally  settled  in  another  little 
village  called  New  Salem,  on  the  high  bluffs  of  the  Sanga- 
mon river,  then  in  Sangamon  County  and  now  in  Menard 
County,  and  about  twenty  miles  northwest  of  Springfield.” 

The  practical  and  ingenious  character  of  Lincoln’s 
mind  is  shown  in  the  act  that  several  years  after  his  river 
experience  he  invented  and  patented  a device  for  over- 
coming some  of  the  difficulties  in  the  navigation  of  western 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  25 


rivers  with  which  this  trip  had  made  him  familiar.  The 
following  interesting  account  of  this  invention  is  given: 
“Occupying  an  ordinary  and  commonplace  position  in 
one  of  the  show-cases  in  the  large  hall  of  the  Patent  Office 
is  one  little  model  which  in  ages  to  come  will  be  prized 
as  one  of  the  most  curious  and  most  sacred  relics  in  that 
vast  museum  of  unique  and  priceless  things.  This  is  a 
plain  and  simple  model  of  a steamboat  roughly  fashioned 
in  wood  by  the  hand  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  It  bears  date 
1849,  when  the  inventor  was  known  simply  as  a successful 
lawyer  and  rising  politician  of  Central  Illinois.  Neither 
his  practice  nor  his  politics  took  up  so  much  of  his  time  as 
to  prevent  him  from  giving  some  attention  to  contrivances 
which  he  hoped  might  be  of  benefit  to  the  world  and  of 
profit  to  himself.  The  design  of  this  invention  is  sugges- 
tive of  one  phase  of  Abraham  Lincoln’s  early  life,  when  he 
went  up  and  down  the  Mississippi  as  a flatboatman  and 
became  familiar  with  some  of  the  dangers  and  incon- 
veniences attending  the  navigation  of  the  western  rivers. 
It  is  an  attempt  to  make  it  an  easy  matter  to  transport 
vessels  over  shoals  and  snags  and  ‘sawyers.’  The  main 
idea  is  that  of  an  apparatus  resembling  a noiseless  bellows 
placed  on  each  side  of  the  hull  of  the  craft  just  below  the 
water  line  and  worked  by  an  odd  but  not  complicated 
system  of  ropes,  valves,  and  pulleys.  When  the  keel  of 
the  vessel  grates  against  the  sand  or  obstruction  these 
bellows  are  to  be  filled  with  air,  and  thus  buoyed  up  the 
ship  is  expected  to  float  lightly  and  gayly  over  the  shoal 
which  would  otherwise  have  proved  a serious  interruption 
to  her  voyage.  The  model,  which  is  about  eighteen  or 
twenty  inches  long  and  has  the  appearance  of  having  been 
whittled  with  a knife  out  of  a shingle  and  a cigar-box,  is 
built  without  any  elaboration  or  ornament  or  any  extra 
apparatus  beyond  that  necessary  to  show  the  operation  of 
buoying  the  steamer  over  the  obstructions.  It  is  carved 
as  one  might  imagine  a retired  railsplitter  would  whittle, 


26  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


strongly  but  not  smoothly,  and  evidently  made  with  a 
view  solely  to  convey  to  the  minds  of  the  patent  au- 
thorities, by  the  simplest  possible  means,  an  idea  of  the 
purpose  and  plan  of  the  invention.  The  label  on  the 
steamer’s  deck  informs  us  that  the  patent  was  obtained; 
but  we  do  not  learn  that  the  navigation  of  the  western 
rivers  was  revolutionized  by  this  quaint  conception.  The 
modest  little  model  has  reposed  here  for  many  years,  and 
the  inventor  has  found  it  his  task  to  guide  the  ship  of  state 
over  shoals  more  perilous  and  obstructions  more  obstinate 
than  any  prophet  dreamed  of  when  Abraham  Lincoln 
wrote  his  bold  autograph  across  the  prow  of  his  miniature 
steamer.” 

At  the  conclusion  of  his  trip  to  New  Orleans,  Lincoln’s 
employer,  Mr.  Offutt,  entered  into  mercantile  trade  at 
New  Salem,  a settlement  on  the  Sangamon  river,  in 
Menard  County,  two  miles  from  Petersburg,  the  county 
seat.  He  opened  a store  of  the  class  usually  to  be  found 
in  such  small  towns,  and  also  set  up  a flouring-mill.  In 
the  late  expedition  down  the  Mississippi  Mr.  Offutt  had 
learned  Lincoln’s  valuable  qualities,  and  was  anxious  to 
secure  his  help  in  his  new  enterprise.  Says  Mr.  Barrett: 
“For  want  of  other  immediate  employment,  and  in  the 
same  spirit  which  had  heretofore  actuated  him,  Abraham 
Lincoln  entered  upon  the  duties  of  a clerk,  having  an  eye 
to  both  branches  of  his  employer’s  business.  This  con- 
nection continued  for  nearly  a year,  all  duties  of  his 
position  being  faithfully  performed.”  It  was  to  this  year’s 
humble  but  honorable  service  of  young  Lincoln  that  Mr. 
Douglas  tauntingly  alluded  in  one  of  his  speeches  during 
the  canvass  of  1858  as  ‘keeping  a groggery.’ 

While  engaged  in  the  duties  of  Offutt’s  store  Lincoln 
began  the  study  of  English  grammar.  There  was  not  a 
text-book  to  be  obtained  in  the  neighborhood ; but  hearing 
that  there  was  a copy  of  Kirkham’s  Grammar  in  the 
possession  of  a person  seven  or  eight  miles  distant  he 


EYERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  27 


walked  to  his  house  and  succeeded  in  borrowing  it.  L.  M. 
Green,  a lawyer  of  Petersburg,  in  Menard  County,  says 
that  every  time  he  visited  New  Salem  at  this  period 
Lincoln  took  him  out  upon  a hill  and  asked  him  to  explain 
some  point  in  Kirkham  that  had  given  him  trouble.  After 
having  mastered  the  book  he  remarked  to  a friend  that  if 
that  was  what  they  called  a science  he  thought  he  could 
“subdue  another.”  Mr.  Green  says  that  Lincoln’s  talk 
at  this  time  showed  that  he  was  beginning  to  think  of  a 
great  life  and  a great  destiny.  Lincoln  said  to  him  on 
one  occasion  that  all  his  family  seemed  to  have  good  sense 
but  somehow  none  had  ever  become  distinguished.  He 
thought  perhaps  he  might  become  so.  He  had  talked, 
he  said,  with  men  who  had  the  reputation  of  being  great 
men,  but  he  could  not  see  that  they  differed  much  from 
others.  During  this  year  he  was  also  much  engaged  with 
debating  clubs,  often  walking  six  or  seven  miles  to  attend 
them.  One  of  these  clubs  held  its  meetings  at  an  old 
store-house  in  New  Salem,  and  the  first  speech  young 
Lincoln  ever  made  was  made  there.  He  used  to  call  the 
exercising  “practicing  polemics.”  As  these  clubs  were 
composed  principally  of  men  of  no  education  whatever, 
some  of  their  “polemics”  are  remembered  as  the  most 
laughable  of  farces.  Lincoln’s  favorite  newspaper  at  this 
time  was  the  “Louisville  Journal.”  He  received  it  regu- 
larly by  mail,  and  paid  for  it  during  a number  of  years 
when  he  had  not  money  enough  to  dress  decently.  He 
liked  its  politics,  and  was  particularly  delighted  with  its 
wit  and  humor,  of  which  he  had  the  keenest  appreciation. 

At  this  era  Lincoln  was  as  famous  for  his  skill  in  athletic 
sports  as  he  was  for  his  love  of  books.  Mr.  Offutt,  who 
had  a strong  regard  for  him,  according  to  Mr.  Arnold, 
“often  declared  that  his  clerk,  or  salesman,  knew  more 
than  any  man  in  the  United  States,  and  that  he  could 
out-run,  whip,  or  throw  any  man  in  the  county.  These 
boasts  came  to  the  ears  of  the  ‘Clary  Grove  Boys,’  a set 


28  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


of  rude,  roystering,  good-natured  fellows,  who  lived  in  and 
around  Clary’s  Grove,  a settlement  near  New  Salem. 
Their  leader  was  Jack  Armstrong,  a great  square-built 
fellow,  strong  as  an  ox,  who  was  believed  by  his  followers 
to  be  able  to  whip  any  man  on  the  Sangamon  river.  The 
issue  was  thus  made  between  Lincoln  and  Armstrong  as  to 
which  was  the  better  man,  and  although  Lincoln  tried  to 
avoid  such  contests,  nothing  but  an  actual  trial  of  strength 
would  satisfy  their  partisans.  They  met  and  wrestled 
for  some  time  without  any  decided  advantage  on  either 
side.  Finally  Armstrong  resorted  to  some  foul  play, 
which  roused  Lincoln’s  indignation.  Putting  forth  his 
whole  strength,  he  seized  the  great  bully  by  the  neck  and 
holding  him  at  arm’s  length  shook  him  like  a boy.  The 
Clary  Grove  Boys  were  ready  to  pitch  in  on  behalf  of  their 
champion;  and  as  they  were  the  greater  part  of  the 
lookers-on,  a general  onslaught  upon  Lincoln  seemed 
imminent.  Lincoln  backed  up  against  Offutt’s  store  and 
calmly  awaited  the  attack;  but  his  coolness  and  courage 
made  such  an  impression  upon  Armstrong  that  he  stepped 
forward,  grasped  Lincoln’s  hand  and  shook  it  heartily, 
saying:  ‘Boys,  Abe  Lincoln  is  the  best  fellow  that  ever 
broke  into  this  settlement.  He  shall  be  one  of  us.’  From 
that  day  forth  Armstrong  was  Lincoln’s  friend  and  most 
willing  servitor.  His  hand,  his  table,  his  purse,  his  vote, 
and  that  of  the  Clary  Grove  Boys  as  well,  belonged  to 
Lincoln.  The  latter’s  popularity  among  them  was  un- 
bounded. They  saw  that  he  would  play  fair.  He  could 
stop  a fight  and  quell  a disturbance  among  these  rude 
neighbors  when  all  others  failed.” 

Under  whatever  circumstances  Lincoln  was  forced  into 
a fight,  the  end  could  be  confidently  predicted.  He  was 
sure  to  thrash  his  opponent  and  gain  the  latter’s  friendship 
afterwards  by  a generous  use  of  victory.  Innumerable  in- 
stances could  be  cited  in  proof  of  this  statement.  It  is 
related  that  “One  day  while  showing  goods  to  two  or  three 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  29 


women  in  Offutt’s  store,  a bully  came  in  and  began  to 
talk  in  an  offensive  manner,  using  much  profanity  and 
evidently  wishing  to  provoke  a quarrel.  Lincoln  leaned 
over  the  counter  and  begged  him,  as  ladies  were  present, 
not  to  indulge  in  such  talk.  The  bully  retorted  that  the 
opportunity  had  come  for  which  he  had  long  sought,  and 
he  would  like  to  see  the  man  who  could  hinder  him  from 
saying  anything  he  might  choose  to  say.  Lincoln,  still 
cool,  told  him  that  if  he  would  wait  until  the  ladies  retired 
he  would  hear  what  he  had  to  say  and  give  him  any  satis- 
faction he  desired.  As  soon  as  the  women  were  gone  the 
man  became  furious.  Lincoln  heard  his  boasts  and  his 
abuse  for  a time,  and  finding  that  he  was  not  to  be  put  off 
without  a fight,  said,  ‘Well,  if  you  must  be  whipped,  I 
suppose  I may  as  well  whip  you  as  any  other  man.’  This 
was  just  what  the  bully  had  been  seeking,  he  said;  so  out 
of  doors  they  went.  Lincoln  made  short  work  of  him. 
He  threw  him  upon  the  ground,  and  held  him  there  as  if 
he  had  been  a child,  and  gathering  some  ‘smart -weed’ 
which  grew  upon  the  spot  he  rubbed  it  into  his  face  and 
eyes  until  the  fellow  bellowed  with  pain.  Lincoln  did  all 
this  without  a particle  of  anger,  and  when  the  job  was 
finished  went  immediately  for  water,  washed  his  victim’s 
face  and  did  everything  he  could  to  alleviate  his  distress. 
The  upshot  of  the  matter  was  that  the  man  became  his 
life-long  friend  and  was  a better  man  from  that  day.” 

The  chief  repute  of  a sturdy  frontiersman  is  built  upon 
his  deeds  of  prowess,  and  the  fame  of  the  great,  rough, 
strong-limbed,  kind-hearted  Titan  was  spread  over  all  the 
country  around.  Says  Mr.  Lamon:  “On  one  occasion 
while  he  was  clerking  for  Offutt  a stranger  came  into  the 
store  and  soon  disclosed  the  fact  that  his  name  was 
Smoot.  Abe  was  behind  the  counter  at  the  moment,  but 
hearing  the  name  he  sprang  over  and  introduced  himself. 
Abe  had  often  heard  of  Smoot  and  Smoot  had  often  heard 
of  Abe.  They  had  been  as  anxious  to  meet  as  ever  two 


30  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


celebrities  were,  but  hitherto  they  had  never  been  able  to 
manage  it.  ‘Smoot,’  said  Lincoln,  after  a steady  survey 
of  his  person,  ‘I  am  very  much  disappointed  in  you;  I 
expected  to  see  an  old  Probst  of  a fellow.’  (Probst,  it 
appears,  was  the  most  hideous  specimen  of  humanity  in  all 
that  country).  ‘Yes,’  replied  Smoot,  ‘and  I am  equally 
disappointed,  for  I expected  to  see  a good-looking  man 
when  I saw  you.’  A few  neat  compliments  like  the  fore- 
going laid  the  foundation  of  a lasting  intimacy  between 
the  two  men,  and  in  his  present  distress  Lincoln  knew  no 
one  who  would  be  more  likely  than  Smoot  to  respond 
favorably  to  an  application  for  money.”  After  he  was 
elected  to  the  Legislature,  says -Mr.  Smoot,  “he  came  to 
my  house  one  day  in  company  with  Hugh  Armstrong. 
Says  he,  ‘Smoot,  did  you  vote  for  me?’  I told  him  I did. 
‘Well,’  says  he,  ‘you  must  loan  me  money  to  buy  suitable 
clothing,  for  I want  to  make  a decent  appearance  in  the 
Legislature.’  I then  loaned  him  two  hundred  dollars, 
which  he  returned  to  me  according  to  promise.” 

Lincoln’s  old  friend  W.  G.  Greene  relates  that  while  he 
was  a student  at  the  Illinois  College  at  Jacksonville  he 
became  acquainted  with  Richard  Yates,  then  also  a stu- 
dent. One  summer  while  Yates  was  his  guest  during  the 
vacation,  Greene  took  him  up  to  Salem  and  made  him 
acquainted  with  Lincoln.  They  found  the  latter  flat  on 
his  back  on  a cellar  door  reading  a newspaper.  Greene 
introduced  the  two,  and  thus  began  the  acquaintance 
between  the  future  War-Governor  of  Illinois  and  the 
future  President. 

Lincoln  was  from  boyhood  an  adept  at  expedients  for 
avoiding  any  unpleasant  predicament,  and  one  of  his 
modes  of  getting  rid  of  troublesome  friends,  as  well  as 
troublesome  enemies,  was  by  telling  a story.  He  began 
these  tactics  early  in  life,  and  he  grew  to  be  wonderfully 
adept  in  them.  If  a man  broached  a subject  which  he 
did  not  wish  to  discuss,  he  told  a story  which  changed 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  31 


the  direction  of  the  conversation.  If  he  was  called  upon 
to  answer  a question,  he  answered  it  by  telling  a story. 
He  had  a story  for  everything;  something  had  occurred 
at  some  place  where  he  used  to  live  that  illustrated  every 
possible  phase  of  every  possible  subject  with  which  he 
might  have  connection.  He  acquired  the  habit  of  story- 
telling naturally,  as  we  learn  from  the  following  state- 
ment: “At  home,  with  his  step-mother  and  the  children, 
he  was  the  most  agreeable  fellow  in  the  world.  He  was 
always  ready  to  do  everything  for  everybody.  When  he 
was  not  doing  some  special  act  of  kindness,  he  told  stories 
or  ‘cracked  jokes.’  He  was  as  full  of  his  yarns  in  Indiana 
as  ever  he  was  in  Illinois.  Dennis  Hanks  was  a clever 
hand  at  the  same  business,  and  so  was  old  Tom  Lincoln.” 

It  was  while  Lincoln  was  salesman  for  Offutt  that  he 
acquired  the  sobriquet  of  “Honest  Abe.”  Says  Mr. 
Arnold:  “Of  many  incidents  illustrating  his  integrity, 
one  or  two  may  be  mentioned.  One  evening  he  found  his 
cash  overran  a little,  and  he  discovered  that  in  making 
change  for  his  last  customer,  an  old  woman  who  had  come 
in  a little  before  sundown,  he  had  made  a mistake,  not 
having  given  her  quite  enough.  Although  the  amount 
was  small,  a few  cents,  he  took  the  money,  immediately 
walked  to  her  house,  and  corrected  the  error.  At  another 
time,  on  his  arrival  at  the  store  in  the  morning,  he  found 
on  the  scales  a weight  which  he  remembered  having  used 
just  before  closing,  but  which  was  not  the  one  he  had 
intended  to  use.  He  had  sold  a parcel  of  tea,  and  in  the 
hurry  had  placed  the  wrong  weight  on  the  scales,  so  that 
the  purchaser  had  a few  ounces  less  of  tea  than  had  been 
paid  for.  He  immediately  sent  the  quantity  required  to 
make  up  the  deficiency.  These  and  many  similar  incidents 
are  told  regarding  his  scrupulous  honesty  in  the  most 
trifling  matters.  It  was  for  such  things  as  these  that 
people  gave  him  the  name  which  clung  to  him  as  long  as  he 
lived.” 


32  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


It  was  in  the  summer  of  1831  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
performed  his  first  official  act.  Minter  Graham,  the 
school-teacher,  tells  the  story.  “On  the  day  of  the 
election,  in  the  month  of  August,  Abe  was  seen  loitering 
about  the  polling  place.  It  was  but  a few  days  after  his 
arrival  in  New  Salem.  They  were  ‘short  of  a clerk’  at 
the  polls;  and,  after  casting  about  in  vain  for  some  one 
competent  to  fill  the  office,  it  occurred  to  one  of  the 
judges  that  perhaps  the  tall  stranger  possessed  the  needful 
qualifications.  He  thereupon  accosted  him,  and  asked  if 
he  could  write.  He  replied,  ‘Yes,  a little.’  ‘Will  you 
act  as  clerk  of  the  election  to-day?’  said  the  judge.  ‘I 
will  try,’  returned  Abe,  ‘and  do  the  best  I can,  if  you  so 
request.’”  He  did  try  accordingly,  and,  in  the  language 
of  the  schoolmaster,  “performed  the  duties  with  great 
facility,  firmness,  honesty,  and  impartiality.  I clerked 
with  him,”  says  Mr.  Graham,  “on  the  same  day  and  at 
the  same  polls.  The  election  books  are  now  in  the  city 
of  Springfield,  where  they  can  be  seen  and  inspected 
any  day.” 

That  the  foregoing  anecdotes  bearing  on  the  early  life 
of  Abraham  Lincoln  are  approximately  correct  is  borne 
out  by  Lincoln  himself.  At  the  urgent  request  of  Hon. 
Jesse  W.  Fell,  of  Bloomington,  Illinois,  Lincoln  wrote  a 
sketch  of  himself  to  be  used  during  the  campaign  of  1860. 
In  a note  which  accompanied  the  sketch  he  said:  “Here- 
with is  a little  sketch,  as  you  requested.  There  is  not 
much  to  it,  for  the  reason,  I suppose,  that  there  is  not 
much  of  me.  If  anything  be  made  out  of  it  I wish  it  to  be 
modest  and  not  to  go  beyond  the  material.”  The  letter  is 
as  follows: 

I was  born  Feb.  12, 1809,  in  Hardin  County,  Kentucky. 
My  parents  were  both  born  in  Virginia,  of  undistinguish- 
able  families  — second  families,  perhaps  I should  say. 
My  mother,  who  died  in  my  tenth  year,  was  of  a family  of 
the  name  of  Hanks,  some  of  whom  now  reside  in  Adams, 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  33 


and  others  in  Macon  Counties,  Illinois.  My  paternal 
grandfather,  Abraham  Lincoln,  emigrated  from  Rocking- 
ham County,  Virginia,  to  Kentucky,  about  1781  or  ’2, 
where,  a year  or  two  later,  he  was  killed  by  Indians,  not 
in  battle,  but  by  stealth,  when  he  was  laboring  to  open  a 
farm  in  the  forest.  His  ancestors,  who  were  Quakers, 
went  to  Virginia  from  Berks  County,  Pennsylvania.  An 
effort  to  identify  them  with  the  New  England  family  of 
the  same  name,  ended  in  nothing  more  than  a similarity 
of  Christian  names  in  both  families,  such  as  Enoch,  Levi, 
Mordecai,  Solomon,  Abraham,  and  the  like. 

My  father,  at  the  death  of  his  father,  was  but  six  years 
of  age,  and  he  grew  up  literally  without  education.  He 
removed  from  Kentucky  to  what  is  now  Spencer  County, 
Indiana,  in  my  eighth  year.  We  reached  our  new  home 
about  the  time  the  State  came  into  the  Union.  It  was  a 
wild  region,  with  many  bears  and  other  wild  animals  still 
in  the  woods.  There  I grew  up.  There  were  some 
schools,  so  called,  but  no  qualification  was  ever  required 
of  a teacher  beyond  ‘readin’,  writin’  and  cipherin’  ’ to  the 
Rule  of  Three.  If  a straggler,  supposed  to  understand 
Latin,  happened  to  sojourn  in  the  neighborhood,  he  was 
looked  upon  as  a wizard.  There  was  absolutely  nothing 
to  excite  ambition  for  education.  Of  course  when  I came 
of  age  I did  not  know  much.  Still,  somehow,  I could 
read,  write,  and  cipher  to  the  Rule  of  Three,  but  that  was 
all.  I have  not  been  to  school  since.  The  little  advance 
I now  have  upon  this  store  of  education,  I have  picked  up 
from  time  to  time  under  the  pressure  of  necessity. 

I was  raised  to  farm  work,  which  I continued  till  I was 
twenty-two.  At  twenty-one  I came  to  Illinois,  and  passed 
the  first  year  in  Macon  County.  Then  I got  to  New 
Salem,  at  that  time  in  Sangamon,  now  in  Menard  County, 
where  I remained  a year  as  a sort  of  clerk  in  a store.  Then 
came  the  Black  Hawk  War,  and  I was  elected  a Captain  of 
Volunteers  — a success  which  gave  me  more  pleasure  than 
any  I have  had  since.  I went  through  the  campaign, 
was  elated,  ran  for  the  Legislature  the  same  year  (1832), 
and  was  beaten  — the  only  time  I have  ever  been  beaten 
by  the  people.  The  next,  and  three  succeeding  biennial 
elections,  I was  elected  to  the  Legislature.  I was  not  a 
candidate  afterwards.  During  this  legislative  period  I 
had  studied  law,  and  removed  to  Springfield  to  practice 


34  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


it.  In  1846  I was  once  elected  to  the  Lower  House  of 
Congress,  but  was  not  a candidate  for  re-election.  From 
1849  to  1854,  both  inclusive,  practiced  law  more  assidu- 
ously than  ever  before.  Always  a Whig  in  politics,  and 
generally  on  the  Whig  electoral  tickets,  making  active 
canvasses.  I was  losing  interest  in  politics,  when  the 
repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  aroused  me  again. 
What  I have  done  since  then  is  pretty  well  known. 

If  any  personal  description  of  me  is  thought  desirable, 
it  may  be  said,  I am  in  height,  six  feet,  four  inches,  nearly; 
lean  in  flesh,  weighing,  on  an  average,  one  hundred  and 
eighty  pounds;  dark  complexion,  with  coarse  black  hair, 
and  gray  eyes.  No  other  marks  or  brands  recollected. 

Yours  very  truly, 

A.  Lincoln. 


CHAPTER  II 


A Turn  in  Affairs  — The  Black  Hawk  War  — A Remarkable  Military 
Manoeuvre  — Lincoln  Protects,  an  Indian  — Lincoln  and  Stuart 
— Lincoln’s  Military  Record  — Nominated  for  the  Legislature  — 
Lincoln  a Merchant  — Postmaster  at  New  Salem  — Lincoln 
Studies  Law  — Elected  to  the  Legislature  — Personal  Charac- 
teristics — Lincoln’s  Love  for  Anne  Rutledge  — Close  of  Lincoln’s 


Youth. 


HE  spring  of  1832  brought  a new  turn  in  Lincoln’s 


X career.  The  year  had  been  one  of  great  advance- 
ment in  many  respects.  He  had  made  new  and  valuable 
acquaintances,  read  many  books,  mastered  the  grammar 
of  his  own  tongue,  won  a multitude  of  friends.  Those 
who  could  appreciate  intelligence  and  character  respected 
him,  and  those  whose  highest  ideas  of  a man  related  to  his 
physical  prowess  were  devoted  to  him.  Everyone  trusted 
him.  He  was  judge,  arbitrator,  referee,  authority  in  all 
disputes,  games,  and  matches  whether  of  man-flesh  or 
horse-flesh.  He  was  the  peacemaker  in  all  quarrels. 
He  was  everybody’s  friend  — the  best-natured,  most 
sensible,  best-informed,  most  modest,  unassuming,  kindest, 
gentlest,  roughest,  strongest,  best  young  fellow  in  all  New 
Salem  or  the  region  about.  But  Mr.  Offutt’s  trading  enter- 
prises ended  disastrously  in  the  year  1832.  The  store 
was  closed,  the  mill  was  shut  down,  and  Lincoln  was  out 
of  business. 

At  the  very  moment,  however,  that  he  found  himself 
adrift  Illinois  was  filled  with  excitement  over  the  Black 
Hawk  War.  The  centre  of  alarm  was  in  the  Rock  Valley, 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  which  had  been  formerly 
the  home  of  the  Sac  tribe  of  Indians.  Discontented  with 
their  life  on  the  reservation  west  of  the  Mississippi,  to 


36  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


which  they  had  been  removed,  the  Sacs,  with  several  other 
tribes,  resolved  to  recover  their  old  hunting-grounds. 
The  warlike  chief,  Black  Hawk,  was  at  the  head  of  the 
revolt,  and  his  march  toward  the  Rock  river  was  signalized 
by  a number  of  massacres.  Governor  Reynolds  of  Illinois 
issued  a proclamation  calling  for  volunteers  to  aid  the 
regular  troops  in  the  emergency.  Lincoln  was  one  of  the 
first  to  answer  the  call,  the  brave  “Clary  Grove  Boys” 
also  coming  promptly  to  the  rescue.  “The  volunteers 
gathered,”  writes  Mr.  Arnold,  “at  Rushville,  in  Schuyler 
County,  at  which  place  they  were  to  be  organized,  and 
elected  officers.  Lincoln  was  a candidate  for  the  place 
of  captain,  and  in  opposition  to  him  was  one  William 
Kirkpatrick.  The  mode  of  election  was  novel.  By 
agreement,  each  candidate  walked  off  to  some  distance 
and  took  position  by  himself.  The  men  were  then  to 
form,  and  those  who  voted  for  Kirkpatrick  were  to  range 
on  a line  with  their  candidate.  When  the  lines  were 
formed,  Lincoln’s  was  three  times  as  long  as  that  of 
Kirkpatrick,  and  so  Lincoln  was  declared  elected.  Speak- 
ing of  this  affair  when  President,  he  said  that  he  was  more 
gratified  with  this  his  first  success  than  with  any  other 
election  of  his  life.  Neither  Lincoln  nor  his  company 
was  in  any  engagement  during  the  campaign,  but  there 
was  plenty  of  hardships  and  fatigue,  and  some  incidents 
occurred  to  illustrate  his  courage  and  power  over  men.” 

Many  years  afterward  — in  fact,  while  Lincoln  was 
President  — he  referred  to  those  early  scenes  in  a way 
that  illustrates  his  wonderful  memory  and  his  power  of 
recalling  the  minutest  incidents  of  his  past  life.  Meeting 
an  old  Illinois  friend,  he  naturally  fell  to  talking  of  Illinois, 
and  related  several  stories  of  his  early  life  in  that  region. 
Particularly  he  remembered  his  share  in  the  Black  Hawk 
War.  He  referred  to  his  part  of  the  campaign  lightly, 
and  said  that  he  saw  but  very  little  fighting.  But  he 
remembered  coming  on  a camp  of  white  scouts  one  morn- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  37 


ing  just  as  the  sun  was  rising.  The  Indians  had  surprised 
the  camp  and  killed  and  scalped  every  man.  “I  remember 
just  how  those  men  looked,”  said  Lincoln,  “as  we  rode 
up  the  little  hill  where  their  camp  was.  The  red  light  of 
the  morning  sun  was  streaming  upon  them  as  they  lay, 
heads  toward  us,  on  the  ground,  and  every  man  had  a 
round  red  spot  on  the  top  of  his  head,  about  as  big  as 
a dollar,  where  the  redskins  had  taken  his  scalp.  It 
was  frightful,  but  it  was  grotesque,  and  the  red  sunlight 
seemed  to  paint  everything  all  over.”  Lincoln  paused 
as  if  recalling  the  vivid  picture,  and  added,  somewhat 
irrelevantly,  “I  remember  that  one  man  had  buckskin 
breeches  on.” 

Lincoln  also  told  a good  story  of  his  first  experience 
in  drilling  raw  troops  during  the  Black  Hawk  War.  He 
was  crossing  a field  with  a front  of  twenty  men  when  he 
came  to  a gate  through  which  it  was  necessary  to  pass. 
In  describing  the  incident  he  said:  “I  could  not,  for  the 
life  of  me,  remember  the  proper  word  of  command  for 
getting  my  company  endwise,  so  that  it  could  pass  through 
the  gate.  So,  as  we  came  near  the  gate,  I shouted,  ‘Halt! 
this  company  is  dismissed  for  two  minutes,  when  it 
will  fall  in  again  on  the  other  side  of  the  gate.’”  The 
manoeuvre  was  successfully  executed. 

During  this  campaign  an  incident  occurred  which  well 
serves  to  show  Lincoln’s  keen  sense  of  justice,  his  great 
common  sense,  and  his  resoluteness  when  aroused.  One 
day  there  came  to  the  camp  an  old  Indian,  footsore  and 
hungry.  He  was  provided  with  a letter  of  safe-conduct 
from  General  Cass ; but  there  was  a feeling  of  great  irrita- 
tion against  the  Indians,  and  the  men  objected  strongly 
to  receiving  him.  They  pronounced  him  a spy  and  his 
passport  a forgery,  and  were  rushing  upon  the  defenseless 
Indian  to  kill  him,  when  the  tall  figure  of  their  captain, 
Lincoln,  suddenly  appeared  between  them  and  their 
victim.  His  men  had  never  seen  him  so  aroused,  and 


38  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


they  cowed  before  him.  “Men,”  said  he,  “this  must 
not  be  done!  He  must  not  be  killed  by  us!”  His  voice 
and  manner  produced  an  effect  on  the  mob.  They 
paused,  listened,  fell  back,  and  sullenly  obeyed  him, 
although  there  were  still  some  murmurs  of  disappointed 
rage.  At  length  one  man,  probably  thinking  he  spoke 
for  the  crowd,  cried  out:  “This  is  cowardly  on  your  part, 
Lincoln!”  Lincoln  only  gazed  with  contempt  on  the 
men  who  would  have  murdered  one  unarmed  Indian  but 
who  quailed  before  his  single  hand.  “If  any  man  thinks 
I am  a coward,”  said  he,  “let  him  test  it.”  “Lincoln,” 
was  the  reply,  “you  are  larger  and  heavier  than  any  of 
us.”  “That  you  can  guard  against,”  responded  the 
captain.  “Choose  your  weapons!”  The  insubordination 
ended,  and  the  word  “coward”  was  never  associated  with 
Lincoln’s  name  again.  He  afterward  said  that  at  this 
time  he  felt  that  his  life  and  character  were  both  at  stake, 
and  would  probably  have  been  lost  had  he  not  at  the 
supreme  moment  forgotten  the  officer  and  asserted  the 
man.  His  men  could  hardly  have  been  called  soldiers. 
They  were  merely  armed  citizens,  with  a military  organiza- 
tion in  name  only.  Had  he  ordered  them  under  arrest  he 
would  have  created  a serious  mutiny;  and  to  have  them 
tried  and  punished  would  have  been  impossible. 

It  was  while  Lincoln  was  a militia  captain  that  he  made 
the  acquaintance  of  a man  who  was  destined  to  have  an 
important  influence  on  his  life.  This  was  Major  John  T. 
Stuart,  afterwards  his  law-partner.  Stuart  was  already 
a lawyer  by  profession.  During  the  Black  Hawk  War  he 
commanded  one  of  the  Sangamon  County  companies,  and 
was  soon  afterward  elected  major  of  a spy  battalion  formed 
from  some  of  these  companies.  He  had  the  best  of 
opportunities  at  this  time  to  observe  the  merits  of  Captain 
Lincoln,  and  testifies  that  the  latter  was  exceedingly 
popular  among  the  soldiers  on  account  of  his  excellent 
care  of  the  men  in  his  command,  his  never-failing  good 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  39 


nature,  and  his  ability  to  tell  more  stories  and  better  ones 
than  any  man  in  the  service.  He  was  popular  also  among 
these  hardy  men  on  account  of  his  great  physical  strength. 
For  several  years  after  the  Black  Hawk  War  Lincoln 
retained  his  military  title  and  was  usually  addressed  as 
“Captain  Lincoln.”  But  this  in  time  was  discontinued. 
Stuart’s  title  of  “Major,”  on  the  contrary,  adhered  to 
him  through  life.  He  was  best  known  as  “Major  Stuart” 
down  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  early  in  the 
winter  of  1886. 

The  time  for  which  Captain  Lincoln’s  company  enlisted 
soon  ran  by,  but  the  trouble  with  the  Indians  not  being 
ended  Governor  Reynolds  called  for  a second  body  of 
volunteers.  Lincoln  again  responded,  and  was  enrolled 
as  a private  in  the  independent  company  commanded  by 
Elijah  lies  of  Springfield.  A note  of  this  occurrence, 
made  in  1868  by  Captain  lies,  contains  the  following 
statement:  “The  term  of  Governor  Reynolds’s  first  call 
being  about  to  expire,  he  made  a second  call,  and  the  first 
levy  was  disbanded.  I was  elected  a captain  of  one  of  the 
companies.  We  were  mustered  into  service  on  the  29th 
of  May,  1832,  at  the  mouth  of  Fox  river,  now  Ottawa,  by 
Lieutenant  Robert  Anderson,  Assistant  Inspector  General 
in  the  United  States  Army.” 

One  day  during  the  Black  Hawk  War  there  were  in  the 
camp  on  Rock  river  four  men  afterward  famed  in  the 
history  of  the  country.  It  was  while  Lincoln  was  a 
member  of  the  company  under  command  of  Captain  lies. 
These  men  were  Lieutenant  Colonel  Zachary  Taylor, 
Lieutenant  Jefferson  Davis,  Lieutenant  Robert  Anderson, 
and  Private  Abraham  Lincoln.  Lincoln  and  Anderson 
did  not  meet  again  until  1861,  after  the  latter  had  evacu- 
ated Fort  Sumter.  Major  Anderson  then  visited  Wash- 
ington and  called  at  the  White  House  to  pay  his  respects 
to  the  President.  After  having  expressed  his  thanks  to 
Anderson  for  his  conduct  in  South  Carolina,  Lincoln  said, 


40  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


“Major,  do  you  remember  ever  meeting  me  before?” 
“No,  Mr.  President,  I do  not  remember  having  had  the 
pleasure  before,”  said  Anderson.  “Well,”  said  Lincoln, 
“my  memory  is  better  than  yours.  You  mustered  me 
into  the  service  of  the  United  States  in  1832  at  Dixon’s 
Ferry,  during  the  Black  Hawk  War.” 

Lincoln  displayed  the  same  courage  and  fidelity  in 
performing  the  duties  of  a soldier  that  had  marked  his 
conduct  in  all  other  relations  of  life.  Father  Dixon,  the 
guide  who  was  attached  to  Captain  Iles’s  company  of 
mounted  rangers,  remarks  that  in  their  marches  when 
scouts  were  sent  forward  to  examine  thickets  and  ravines 
in  which  it  was  thought  the  enemy  might  be  lurking  it 
often  became  necessary  for  many  of  the  men  to  dismount 
and  attend  to  their  riding  gear.  Whenever  Lincoln  was 
detailed  for  such  service,  however,  his  saddle  was  always 
in  order. 

During  the  contest  between  General  Lewis  Cass  and 
General  Zachary  Taylor  for  the  Presidency,  in  the  year 
1848,  Lincoln  made  a speech  in  Congress  in  which  he 
referred  to  his  services  in  the  Black  Hawk  War  with 
characteristic  humor: 

“By  the  way,  Mr.  Speaker,”  he  said,  “did  you  know 
that  I am  a military  hero?  Yes,  sir.  In  the  days  of  the 
Black  Hawk  War  I fought,  bled,  and  came  away.  Speak- 
ing of  General  Cass’s  career  reminds  me  of  my  own.  I 
was  not  at  Stillman’s  defeat,  but  I was  about  as  near  it  as 
Cass  was  to  Hull’s  surrender,  and,  like  him,  I saw  the  place 
very  soon  afterwards.  It  fs  quite  certain  that  I did  not 
break  my  sword,  for  I had  none  to  break.  But  I bent  my 
musket  pretty  badly  on  one  occasion.  If  Cass  broke  his 
sword  the  idea  is  that  he  broke  it  in  desperation.  I bent 
my  musket  by  accident.  If  General  Cass  went  ahead  of 
me  in  picking  whortleberries,  I guess  I surpassed  him  in 
charges  upon  the  wild  onions.  If  he  saw  any  live  fighting 
Indians,  it  is  more  than  I did,  but  I had  a good  many 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  41 


bloody  struggles  with  the  mosquitos,  and  although  I never 
fainted  from  loss  of  blood  I can  truly  say  that  I was  often 
very  hungry.  Mr.  Speaker,  if  I should  ever  conclude  to 
doff  whatever  our  Democratic  friends  may  suppose  there 
is  in  me  of  black-cockade  Federalism,  and  thereupon  they 
shall  take  me  up  as  their  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  I 
protest  they  shall  not  make  fun  of  me  as  they  have  of 
General  Cass  by  attempting  to  write  me  into  a military 
hero.” 

Lincoln’s  popularity  among  his  comrades  in  the  field 
was  so  great  that  at  the  close  of  his  military  service,  which 
had  lasted  three  months,  he  was  nominated  as  a candidate 
for  the  State  Legislature.  “His  first  appearance  on  the 
stump  in  the  course  of  the  canvass  was  at  Pappsville,  about 
eleven  miles  west  of  Springfield,  upon  the  occasion  of  a 
public  sale.  The  sale  over,  speech-making  was  about  to 
begin,  when  Lincoln  observed  some  strong  symptoms  of 
inattention  in  his  audience,  which  had  taken  that  particu- 
lar moment  to  engage  in  a general  fight.  Lincoln  saw 
that  one  of  his  friends  was  suffering  more  than  he  liked, 
and  stepping  into  the  crowd  he  shouldered  them  sternly 
away  from  his  man  until  he  met  a fellow  who  refused  to 
fall  back.  Him  he  seized  by  the  nape  of  the  neck  and  the 
seat  of  his  breeches,  and  tossed  him  ‘ten  or  twelve  feet 
easily.’  After  this  episode  — as  characteristic  of  him  as 
of  the  times  — he  mounted  the  platform  and  delivered 
with  awkward  modesty  the  following  speech : ‘ Gentlemen 
and  Fellow-Citizens,  I presume  you  all  know  who  I am. 
I am  humble  Abraham  Lincoln.  I have  been  solicited  by 
my  friends  to  become  a candidate  for  the  Legislature. 
My  politics  are  short  and  sweet,  like  the  old  woman’s 
dance.  I am  in  favor  of  a national  bank.  I am  in  favor 
of  the  internal-improvement  system  and  a high  protective 
tariff.  These  are  my  sentiments  and  political  principles. 
If  elected  I shall  be  thankful.  If  not,  it  will  be  all  the 

9 99 


same. 


42  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Lincoln’s  friend,  Mr.- A.  Y.  Ellis,  who  was  with  him 
during  a part  of  this  campaign,  says:  “He  wore  a mixed- 
jeans  coat,  claw-hammer  style,  short  in  the  sleeves  and 
bobtail,  — in  fact,  it  was  so  short  in  the  tail  that  he  could 
not  sit  down  on  it,  - — flax  and  tow  linen  pantaloons,  and  a 
straw  hat.  I think  he  wore  a vest,  but  I do  not  remember 
how  it  looked.  He  wore  pot-metal  boots.  I went  with 
him  on  one  of  his  electioneering  trips  to  Island  Grove, 
and  he  made  a speech  which  pleased  his  party  friends  very 
well,  although  some  of  the  Jackson  men  tried  to  make 
sport  of  it.  He  told  several  good  anecdotes  in  the  speech, 
and  applied  them  very  well,  I thought.” 

The  election  took  place  in  August,  and  although  Lincoln 
was  defeated  he  received  two  hundred  and  seventy-seven 
out  of  the  two  hundred  and  eighty-four  votes  cast  in  his 
precincts.  He  was  so  little  known  outside  of  New  Salem 
that  the  chances  of  election  were  hopelessly  against  him, 
yet  the  extraordinary  evidence  of  favor  shown  by  the  vote 
of  his  fellow-townsmen  was  a flattering  success  in  the  midst 
of  defeat.  His  failure  to  be  elected,  however,  left  him 
once  more  without  occupation.  He  was  without  means, 
and  felt  the  necessity  of  undertaking  some  business  that 
would  provide  him  an  income,  however  small.  It  seems 
that  at  this  time  he  considered  seriously  learning  the 
blacksmith’s  trade,  but  while  entertaining  the  idea  an 
event  occurred  which  opened  the  way  in  another  direction. 
The  particulars  of  this  event  are  given  by  Mr.  W.  G. 
Greene.  “A  man  named  Reuben  Radford,”  says  Mr. 
Greene,  “was  the  keeper  of  a small  store  in  the  village  of 
New  Salem.  A friend  told  him  to  look  out  for  the  ‘Clary 
Grove  boys’  or  they  would  smash  him  up.  He  said  he 
was  not  afraid.  He  was  a great  big  fellow.  But  his 
friend  said,  ‘They  don’t  come  alone.  If  one  can’t  whip 
you,  two  or  three  can,  and  they’ll  do  it.’  One  day  he  left 
his  store  in  charge  of  his  brother,  with  injunctions  that  if 
the  ‘Clary  Grove  boys’  came  he  must  not  let  them  have 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  43 


more  than  two  drinks  apiece.  All  the  stores  in  those  days 
kept  liquor  to  sell  and  had  a corner  for  drinking.  The 
store  was  nicely  fitted  up,  and  had  many  things  in  glass 
jars  nicely  labelled.  The  ‘Clary  Grove  boys’  came,  and 
took  two  drinks  each.  The  clerk  refused  them  any  more 
as  politely  as  he  could.  Then  they  went  behind  the 
counter  and  helped  themselves.  They  got  roaring  drunk 
and  went  to  work  smashing  everything  in  the  store.  The 
fragments  on  the  floor  were  an  inch  deep.  They  left 
and  went  off  on  their  horses  whooping  and  yelling.  Com- 
ing across  some  herds  of  cattle,  they  took  the  bells  from 
their  necks,  fastened  them  to  the  tails  of  the  leaders, 
and  chased  them  over  the  country  yelling  like  mad. 
Radford  heard  them,  and,  mounting  his  horse,  rode  in 
hot  haste  to  the  store.  I had  been  sent  that  morning  with 
grist  to  the  mill,  and  had  to  pass  the  store.  I saw  Radford 
ride  up,  his  horse  a lather  of  foam.  He  dismounted,  and 
looked  in  upon  the  wreck  through  the  open  door.  He 
was  aghast  at  the  sight,  and  said,  ‘I’ll  sell  out  this  thing 
to  the  first  man  that  comes  along.’  I rode  up  and  said, 
‘I’ll  give  you  four  hundred  dollars  for  it.’  ‘Done!’  said 
he.  ‘But,’  I said,  ‘I  have  no  money.  I must  have  time.’ 
‘How  much?’  ‘Six  months.’  ‘Agreed.’  He  drew  up  a 
note  for  four  hundred  dollars  at  six  months,  and  I signed 
it.  I began  to  think  I was  stuck.  Then  the  boys  came  in, 
and  among  them  was  Lincoln.  ‘Cheer  up,  Billy,’  he  said. 
‘It’s  a good  thing.  We’ll  take  an  inventory.’  ‘No  more 
inventories  for  me,’  said  I,  not  knowing  what  he  meant. 
He  explained  that  we  should  take  an  account  of  stock  to 
see  how  much  was  left.  We  found  that  it  amounted  to 
about  twelve  hundred  dollars.  Lincoln  and  Berry  con- 
sulted over  it,  and  offered  me  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  for  my  bargain.  I accepted,  stipulating  that  they 
should  assume  my  notes.  Berry  was  a wild  fellow  — a 
gambler.  He  had  a fine  horse,  with  a splendid  saddle  and 
bridle.  He  turned  over  the  horse  as  part  pay.  Lincoln 


44  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


let  Berry  run  the  store,  and  it  soon  ran  out.  I had  to  pay 
the  note.  Lincoln  said  he  would  pay  it  some  day  and  did, 
with  interest.”  This  ended  Lincoln’s  brief  career  as  a 
country  merchant. 

Many  of  the  anecdotes  in  the  foregoing  pages  touch 
upon  Lincoln’s  ambition  to  fit  himself  for  a public  speaker. 
Even  at  this  early  day  the  settlers  in  New  Salem  were 
infected  with  the  general  desire  to  join  in  the  march 
toward  intellectual  improvement.  To  aid  in  this  object, 
they  had  established  a club  entitled  the  New  Salem 
Literary  Society.  Before  this  association,  the  studious 
Lincoln  was  invited  to  speak.  Mr.  R.  B.  Rutledge,  the 
brother  of  Anne  Rutledge,  says  of  the  event:  “About 
the  year  1832  or  1833,  Mr.  Lincoln  made  his  first  effort  at 
public  speaking.  A debating  club,  of  which  James 
Rutledge  was  president,  was  organized  and  held  regular 
meetings.  As  Lincoln  arose  to  speak,  his  tall  form  towered 
above  the  little  assembly.  Both  hands  were  thrust  down 
deep  in  the  pockets  of  his  pantaloons.  A perceptible 
smile  at  once  lit  up  the  faces  of  the  audience,  for  all 
anticipated  the  relation  of  some  humorous  story.  But 
he  opened  up  the  discussion  in  splendid  style,  to  the 
infinite  astonishment  of  his  friends.  As  he  warmed  with 
his  subject,  his  hands  would  forsake  his  pockets  and  en- 
force his  ideas  by  awkward  gestures,  but  would  very  soon 
seek  their  easy  resting-places.  He  pursued  the  question 
with  reason  and  argument  so  pithy  and  forcible  that  all 
were  amazed.  The  president,  after  the  meeting,  remarked 
to  his  wife  that  there  was  more  in  Abe’s  head  than  wit  and 
fun;  that  he  was  already  a fine  speaker;  that  all  he  lacked 
was  culture  to  enable  him  to  reach  the  high  destiny  which 
he  knew  was  in  store  for  him.” 

On  the  7th  of  May,  1833,  Lincoln  was  appointed 
postmaster  at  New  Salem  by  President  Jackson.  The 
duties  of  the  position  were  light,  there  being  only  a weekly 
mail,  and  the  remuneration  was  correspondingly  small. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  45 


“The  office  was  too  insignificant  to  be  considered  politi- 
cally, and  it  was  given  to  the  young  man  because  every- 
body liked  him,  and  because  he  was  the  only  man  willing 
to  take  it  who  could  make  out  the  returns.  He  was  ex- 
ceedingly pleased  with  the  appointment,  because  it  gave 
him  a chance  to  read  every  newspaper  that  was  taken  in 
the  vicinity.  He  had  never  been  able  to  get  half  the  news- 
papers he  wanted,  and  the  office  gave  him  the  prospect  of 
a constant  feast.  Not  wishing  to  be  tied  to  the  office, 
as  it  yielded  him  no  revenue  that  would  reward  him  for 
the  confinement,  he  made  a post-office  of  his  hat.  When- 
ever he  went  out,  the  letters  were  placed  in  his  hat.  When 
an  anxious  looker  for  a letter  met  the  postmaster  he  found 
also  the  post-office,  and  the  public  official,  taking  off  his 
hat,  looked  over  and  delivered  the  mail  wherever  the 
public  might  find  him.  He  kept  the  office  until  it  was 
discontinued,  or  was  removed  to  Petersburg.” 

A small  balance  due  the  government  remained  in  the 
hands  of  Lincoln  at  the  discontinuance  of  the  office. 
Time  passed  on,  and  he  had  removed  to  Springfield  and 
was  practicing  law,  having  his  place  of  business  in  Dr. 
Henry’s  office.  Meanwhile  his  struggle  with  poverty  was 
unabated,  and  he  had  often  been  obliged  to  borrow  money 
from  his  friends  to  purchase  the  barest  necessities.  It 
was  at  this  juncture  that  the  agent  of  the  United  States 
called  for  a settlement  of  his  post-office  accounts.  The 
interview  took  place  in  the  presence  of  Dr.  Henry  who 
thus  describes  it:  “I  did  not  believe  he  had  the  money 
on  hand  to  meet  the  draft,  and  I was  about  to  call  him  aside 
and  loan  him  the  money,  when  he  asked  the  agent  to  be 
seated  a moment.  He  went  over  to  his  trunk  at  his 
boarding-house  and  returned  with  an  old  blue  sock  with  a 
quantity  of  silver  and  copper  coin  tied  up  in  it.  Untying 
the  sock,  he  poured  the  contents  on  the  table  and  proceeded 
to  count  the  coin,  which  consisted  of  such  silver  and  copper 
pieces  as  the  country  people  were  then  in  the  habit  of  using 


46  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


in  paying  postage.  On  counting  it  up,  there  was  found  the 
exact  amount  of  the  draft  to  a cent,  and  in  the  identical 
coin  which  had  been  received.  He  never,  under  any 
circumstances,  used  trust  funds.” 

When  Lincoln  was  about  twenty-three  years  of  age, 
some  time  in  1832,  he  began  studying  law,  using  an  old 
copy  of  Blackstone’s  Commentaries  which  he  had  bought 
at  auction  in  Springfield.  This  work  was  soon  mastered, 
and  then  the  young  man  looked  about  him  for  more. 
His  friend  of  the  Black  Hawk  War,  Major  John  T.  Stuart, 
had  a considerable  law  library  for  those  days,  and  to  him 
Lincoln  applied  in  his  extremity.  The  library  was  placed 
at  his  disposal,  and  thenceforth  he  was  engrossed  in  the 
acquisition  of  its  contents.  But  the  books  were  in  Spring- 
field,  where  their  owner  resided;  and  New  Salem  was 
some  fourteen  miles  distant.  This  proved  no  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  Lincoln,  who  made  nothing  of  the  walk  back 
and  forth  in  the  pursuit  of  his  purpose.  Mr.  Stuart’s 
partner,  Mr.  H.  C.  Dummer,  who  took  note  of  the  youth 
in  his  frequent  visits  to  the  office,  describes  him  as  “an 
uncouth  looking  lad,  who  did  not  say  much,  but  what  he 
did  say  he  said  straight  and  sharp.”  “He  used  to  read 
law,”  says  Henry  McHenry,  “barefooted,  seated  in  the 
shade  of  a tree  just  opposite  Berry’s  grocery,  and  would 
grind  around  with  the  shade,  occasionally  varying  his 
attitude  by  lying  flat  on  his  back  and  putting  his  feet  up 
the  tree,”  a situation  which  might  have  been  unfavorable 
to  mental  application  in  the  case  of  a man  with  shorter 
extremities.  “The  first  time  I ever  saw  Abe  with  a law- 
book in  his  hand,”  says  Squire  Godbey,  “he  was  sitting 
astride  Jake  Bates’s  woodpile  in  New  Salem.  Says  I, 
‘Abe,  what  are  you  studying?’  ‘Law,’ says  Abe.  ‘Good 
God  Almighty!’  responded  I.”  It  was  too  much  for 
Godbey;  he  could  not  suppress  the  exclamation  of  surprise 
at  seeing  such  a figure  acquiring  learning  in  such  an  odd 
situation.  Mr.  Arnold  states  that  Lincoln  made  a practice 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  47 


of  reading  in  his  walks  between  Springfield  and  New 
Salem;  and  so  intense  was  his  application  and  so  absorbed 
was  he  in  his  study  that  he  would  pass  his  best  friends 
without  observing  them,  and  some  people  said  that  Lincoln 
was  going  crazy  with  hard  study. 

He  soon  began  to  make  a practical  application  of  his 
legal  knowledge.  He  bought  an  old  form-book  and  began 
to  draw  up  contracts,  deeds,  leases,  mortgages,  and  all 
sorts  of  legal  instruments  for  his  neighbors.  He  also 
began  to  exercise  his  forensic  ability  in  trying  small  cases 
before  justices  of  the  peace  and  juries,  and  soon  acquired 
a local  reputation  as  a speaker,  which  gave  him  consider- 
able practice.  But  he  was  able  in  this  way  to  earn  scarcely 
money  enough  for  his  maintenance.  To  add  to  his  means, 
he  took  up  the  study  of  surveying,  and  soon  became, 
like  Washington,  a skilful  and  accurate  surveyor.  John 
Calhoun,  an  intelligent  and  courteous  gentleman,  was  at 
that  time  surveyor  of  the  county  of  Sangamon.  He 
became  interested  in  Lincoln  and  appointed  him  his 
deputy.  His  work  was  so  accurate  and  the  settlers  had 
such  confidence  in  him  that  he  was  much  sought  after  to 
survey,  fix,  and  mark  the  boundaries  of  farms,  and  to  plot 
and  lay  off  the  town  of  Petersburg.  His  accuracy  must 
have  been  attained  with  some  difficulty,  for  when  he  began 
to  survey  his  chain  was  a grape-vine.  He  did  not  specu- 
late in  the  land  he  surveyed.  Had  he  done  so  the  rapid 
advance  in  the  value  of  real  estate  would  have  made  it 
easy  for  him  to  make  good  investments.  But  he  was  not 
in  the  least  like  one  of  his  own  appointees  when  President, 
— a surveyor-general  of  a Western  territory,  who  bought 
up  much  of  the  best  land,  and  to  whom  the  President  said, 
“I  am  told,  sir,  you  are  monarch  of  all  you  survey.” 

The  nomination  of  Lincoln  for  the  State  Legislature  on 
his  return  from  the  Black  Hawk  War  was  premature. 
The  people  of  New  Salem  voted  for  him  almost  to  a man, 
but  his  acquaintance  had  not  then  extended  into  the 


48  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


surrounding  district  far  enough  to  insure  his  election. 
In  the  campaign  of  1834  the  choice  of  a candidate  again 
fell  upon  him,  and  this  time  there  was  a prospect  of  success. 
Lincoln  entered  into  the  contest  with  earnestness,  and 
used  every  legitimate  means  to  secure  a victory.  Mr. 
Herndon  relates  the  following  incident  of  this  campaign: 
“Lincoln  came  to  my  house,  near  Island  Grove,  during 
harvest.  There  were  some  thirty  men  in  the  field.  He 
had  his  dinner,  and  then  went  out  into  the  field  where  the 
men  were  at  work.  I introduced  him,  and  the  boys  said 
they  would  not  vote  for  a man  unless  he  could  ‘make  a 
hand.’  ‘Well,  boys,’  he  said,  ‘if  that  is  all  that  is  needed 
I am  sure  of  your  votes.’  He  took  hold  of  the  cradle  and 
led  the  way  all  around  with  perfect  ease.  The  boys  were 
satisfied.  I don’t  think  he  lost  a vote  in  that  crowd.  The 
next  day  there  was  speaking  at  Berlin.  He  went  from  my 
house  with  Dr.  Barnett,  who  had  asked  me  who  this  man 
Lincoln  was.  I told  him  he  was  a candidate  for  the 
Legislature.  He  laughed  and  said,  ‘ Can’t  the  party  raise 
better  material  than  that?’  I said,  ‘Go  to-morrow  and 
hear  him  before  you  pass  judgment.’  When  he  came  back 
I said,  ‘Doctor,  what  have  you  to  say  now?’  ‘Why,  sir,’ 
he  said,  ‘he  is  a perfect  talce-in.  He  knows  more  than  all 
the  rest  of  them  put  together.’” 

The  result  of  the  election  was  that  Lincoln  was 
chosen  to  represent  the  Sangamon  district.  When  the 
Legislature  convened  at  the  opening  session,  he  was  in  his 
place  in  the  lower  house;  but  he  bore  himself  quietly  in 
his  new  position.  He  had  much  to  learn  in  his  novel 
situation  as  one  of  the  lawmakers  of  the  State,  and  as  a 
co-worker  with  an  assembly  comprising  the  most  talented 
and  prominent  men  gathered  from  all  parts  of  Illinois. 
He  was  keenly  watchful  of  the  proceedings  of  the  House, 
weighing  every  measure  with  scrutinizing  sagacity,  but 
except  in  the  announcement  of  his  vote  his  voice  was 
seldom  heard.  At  the  previous  session,  Mr.  G.  S.  Hub- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  49 


bard,  afterwards  a well-known  citizen  of  Chicago,  had 
exerted  himself  to  procure  the  passage  of  an  act  for  the 
construction  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal.  His 
effort  was  defeated;  but  he  continued,  as  a lobbyist,  to 
push  the  measure  during  several  winters,  until  it  was 
finally  adopted.  Lincoln  lent  him  efficient  aid  in  the 
accomplishment  of  his  object.  “Indeed,”  remarks  Mr. 
Hubbard,  “I  very  much  doubt  if  the  bill  could  have  passed 
as  easily  as  it  did  without  his  valuable  help.”  “We  were 
thrown  much  together,”  continues  Mr.  Hubbard,  “our 
intimacy  increasing.  I never  had  a friend  to  whom  I was 
more  warmly  attached.  His  character  was  almost 
faultless;  possessing  a warm  and  generous  heart,  genial, 
affable,  honest,  courteous  to  his  opponents,  persevering, 
industrious  in  research,  never  losing  sight  of  the  principal 
point  under  discussion,  aptly  illustrating  by  his  stories 
which  were  always  brought  into  good  effect.  He  was  free 
from  political  trickery  or  denunciation  of  the  personal 
character  of  his  opponents.  In  debate  he  was  firm  and 
collected.  ‘With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for 
all,’  he  won  the  confidence  of  the  public,  even  his  political 
opponents.” 

Of  all  the  stories  of  Lincoln’s  boyhood  and  youth,  the 
most  profoundly  touching  is  that  of  his  love  for  Anne 
Rutledge.  The  existence  of  this  romance  was  brief,  but 
it  is  believed  by  many  that  it  was  the  memory  of  it  which 
threw  over  Lincoln  that  indescribable  melancholy  which 
seemed  to  shadow  his  whole  life.  The  Rutledges  from 
whom  Anne  was  descended  were  an  eminent  family  of  the 
Carolinas.  She  was  about  nineteen  years  old  when 
Lincoln  knew  her  first.  It  was  shortly  after  the  Black 
Hawk  War.  She  was  a winsome  girl,  with  fair  hair  and 
blue  eyes,  and  Lincoln’s  heart  was  captivated  by  her 
sweet  face  and  gentle  manners.  So  attractive  a girl  was 
not,  of  course,  without  suitors,  and  Anne  had  been  wooed 
by  one  James  McNeill,  a young  man  who  had  come  to 


50  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


New  Salem  soon  after  the  founding  of  the  town.  He  had 
been  more  than  ordinarily  successful,  and  had  bought  a 
large  farm  a few  miles  north  of  the  village.  He  was 
unmarried  — at  least  he  so  represented  himself  — and 
paid  devoted  attention  to  Anne.  They  were  engaged, 
although  both  had  acquiesced  in  the  wishes  of  Anne’s 
parents  that  they  should  not  be  married  until  she  was 
older. 

About  this  time  Lincoln  appeared  in  New  Salem  and 
went  to  board  at  the  Rutledge  tavern.  Here  he  saw 
Anne,  and  was  much  in  her  company.  During  the  next 
year  McNeill  became  restless  and  discontented.  He 
said  it  was  because  he  wanted  to  see  his  people.  So  he 
decided  to  go  East  on  a visit.  He  sold  out  his  interests  in 
New  Salem  — an  act  not  at  all  necessary  if  he  were  going 
only  on  a visit,  and  which  in  the  light  of  after  events  had 
much  significance  — telling  Anne  that  it  was  his  hope  to 
bring  his  father  and  mother  back  with  him  and  establish 
them  upon  his  farm.  “This  done,”  he  said,  “we  will  be 
married.”  He  then  set  out  on  his  journey. 

It  was  late  in  the  summer  before  Anne  heard  from  him. 
He  explained  that  he  had  been  taken  ill  with  chills  and 
fever  on  the  way,  and  had  been  long  delayed  in  getting 
home.  But  the  long  wait  had  been  a great  strain  upon 
Anne.  Lincoln,  meanwhile,  had  become  the  postmaster 
in  New  Salem,  and  it  was  to  him  that  Anne  came  to 
inquire  for  letters.  He  watched  her  anxiety  with  sym- 
pathy, and  in  a way  became  her  confidant.  His  tender 
heart,  which  never  could  resist  suffering,  was  deeply 
touched  at  sight  of  her  distress.  Finally  McNeill’s  letters 
ceased  altogether;  and  then  Anne  confided  to  Lincoln 
something  which  McNeill  had  told  her  before  he  left,  and 
which  until  now  she  had  kept  secret,  — namely,  that  his 
name  was  not  McNeill  but  McNamar.  He  had  explained 
to  her  that  he  had  made  this  change  because  his  father  had 
failed  in  business  and  that  as  his  oldest  son  it  was  his 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  51 


duty  to  retrieve  the  family  fortunes.  So  he  had  changed 
his  name,  and  come  West,  hoping  to  return  in  a few  years 
to  his  family  a rich  man.  All  this  Anne  had  believed,  and 
had  not  repeated  until  now. 

All  New  Salem  joined  in  declaring  McNamar  an  impostor 
and  his  story  a fabrication.  “Who  knew  how  many  wives 
he  had?”  they  said.  With  one  accord  Anne’s  friends 
denounced  him;  and  although  his  story  turned  out  after- 
ward to  be  not  altogether  false,  it  is  small  wonder  that 
Anne  herself  at  last  came  to  believe  that  either  he  was 
dead  or  had  ceased  to  love  her. 

While  matters  were  in  this  state,  Lincoln  ventured  to 
show  his  love  for  Anne.  It  was  a long  time  before  she 
would  listen;  but,  convinced  at  last  that  her  former  lover 
had  deserted  her,  she  promised,  in  the  spring  of  1835,  to 
become  his  wife.  But  Lincoln  had  nothing  on  which  to 
support  a family,  — in  fact,  could  hardly  support  himself. 
Besides,  Anne  was  anxious  to  go  to  school  another  year. 
So  it  was  decided  that  she  should  spend  the  winter  in  an 
academy  in  Jacksonville,  while  Lincoln  devoted  himself  to 
the  study  of  the  law.  Then,  when  she  should  return  from 
school,  he  would  be  a member  of  the  bar  and  they  could 
be  married. 

A happy  spring  and  summer  followed.  All  their  friends 
took  an  interest  in  the  lovers,  and  their  prospects  seemed 
bright.  But  Anne’s  health  began  to  fail.  She  could  not 
rid  herself  of  her  haunting  memories.  There  was  a 
possibility  that  she  had  wronged  McNamar.  What  if 
he  should  love  her  still,  and  should  return  and  find  her 
wedded  to  another?  Had  she  wronged  both  men?  In 
her  thoughts  was  perpetual  conflict.  The  old  love  still 
persisted.  Her  conscience  troubled  her.  She  doubted, 
and  was  morbidly  melancholy.  All  this  wore  upon  her; 
she  fell  ill.  At  last  her  condition  became  grave,  then 
hopeless.  Lincoln  was  sent  for.  Anne’s  last  hour  was 
passed  alone  with  him.  She  died  at  sunset,  August  25, 


52  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


1835.  An  old  neighbor  who  saw  Lincoln  just  after  his 
parting  with  the  dying  girl  says:  “There  were  signs  of  the 
most  terrible  distress  in  his  face.  His  grief  became  frantic. 
He  lost  all  self-control,  even  the  consciousness  of  his  own 
identity;  and  his  closest  friends  in  New  Salem  pronounced 
him  insane,  crazy,  mad.  They  watched  him  with  especial 
vigilance  on  dark  and  stormy  days.  At  such  times  he 
raved  piteously,  often  saying,  ‘I  can  never  be  reconciled 
to  having  the  snow  fall  and  the  rain  beat  upon  her  grave.’  ” 
His  old  friend,  Bowlin  Greene,  alone  seemed  possessed  of 
the  power  to  quiet  him.  He  took  him  to  his  own  home  and 
kept  him  for  several  weeks,  an  object  of  undisguised 
solicitude.  At  last  it  seemed  safe  to  permit  him  to  return 
to  his  old  haunts.  Greene  urged  him  to  go  back  to  the 
law;  and'  he  did  so,  but  he  was  never  the  same  man  again. 
He  was  thin,  haggard,  and  careworn.  He  was  as  one  who 
had  been  at  the  brink  of  the  grave.  A long  time  after- 
ward, when  the  grass  had  for  nearly  thirty  years  grown 
over  the  grave  of  Anne  Rutledge,  Lincoln  was  one  day 
introduced  to  a man  named  Rutledge  in  the  White  House. 
He  looked  at  him  a moment,  then  grasped  his  hand  and 
said  with  deep  feeling:  “I  love  the  name  of  Rutledge  to 
this  day.  Anne  was  a lovely  girl.  She  was  natural, 
well-educated.  She  would  have  made  a good,  loving 
wife.  I did  honestly  and  truly  love  her,  and  I think 
often,  often  of  her  now.”  Mr.  Herndon  has  said 
that  the  love  and  the  death  of  this  young  girl  shattered 
Lincoln’s  purposes  and  tendencies.  “He  threw  off  his 
infinite’  sorrow  only  by  leaping  wildly  into  the  political 
arena.  He  needed  whip  and  spur  to  save  him  from 
despair.” 

The  period  of  Abraham  Lincoln’s  boyhood  and  youth 
had  closed  when  he  stood  by  the  grave  of  Anne  Rutledge. 
He  had  long  been  a man  in  stature.  He  was  now  a man 
in  years;  yet  the  rough  path  he  had  been  forced  to  travel 
had  made  his  progress  toward  maturity  painfully  slow. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  53 


In  spite  of  his  low  birth,  of  his  dire  poverty,  of  the  rudeness 
and  illiteracy  of  his  associates,  of  the  absence  of  refine- 
ment in  his  surroundings,  of  his  scanty  means  of  education, 
of  his  homely  figure  and  awkward  manners,  of  his  coarse 
fare  and  shabby  dress,  he  dared  to  believe  there  was  an 
exalted  career  in  store  for  him.  He  hewed  out  the  founda- 
tions for  it  with  indomitable  spirit.  It  was  to  be  grounded 
on  manly  virtues.  It  seems  as  though  the  boy  felt  the 
consecration  of  a high  destiny  from  the  very  dawn  of  his 
intelligence,  and  it  set  him  apart,  secure  amid  the  tempta- 
tions and  safe  from  the  vices  that  corrupt  many  men. 
In  the  rough  garb  of  the  backwoodsman  he  preserved  the 
instincts  of  a gentleman.  He  was  the  companion  of 
bullies  and  boors.  He  shared  their  work  and  their  sports, 
but  he  never  stooped  to  their  vulgarity.  He  very  seldom 
drank  with  them,  and  they  never  heard  him  speak  an  oath. 
He  could  throw  the  stoutest  in  a wrestling  match,  and  was 
ready,  when  brought  to  it,  to  whip  any  insolent  braggart 
who  made  cruel  use  of  his  strength.  He  never  flinched 
from  hardship  or  danger,  yet  his  heart  was  as  soft  and 
tender  as  a woman’s.  The  great  gentle  giant  had  a feeling 
of  sympathy  for  every  living  creature.  He  was  not 
ashamed  to  rock  a cradle,  or  to  carry  a pail  of  water  or 
an  armful  of  wood  to  spare  a tired  woman’s  arms.  Though 
destitute  of  worldly  goods,  he  was  rich  in  friends.  All  the 
people  of  his  acquaintance  knew  they  could  count  on  his 
doing  the  right  thing  always,  so  far  as  he  was  able.  Hence 
they  trusted  and  loved  him;  and  the  title  of  “Honest 
Abe,”  which  he  bore  through  life,  was  a seal  of  knighthood 
rarer  and  prouder  than  any  king  or  queen  could  confer 
with  the  sword.  Abraham  Lincoln  was  one  of  nature’s 
noblemen.  He  showed  himself  a hero  in  every  circum- 
stance of  his  boyhood  and  youth.  The  elements  of 
greatness  were  visible  even  then.  The  boy  who  was  true 
to  duty,  patient  in  privation,  modest  in  merit,  kind  to 
every  form  of  distress,  determined  to  rise  by  wresting 


54  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


opportunities  from  the  grudging  hand  of  fate,  was  sure  to 
make  a man  distinguished  among  his  fellows,  — a man 
noted  among  the  great  men  of  the  world,  as  the  boy  had 
been  among  his  neighbors  in  the  wilds  of  Spencer  County 
and  New  Salem. 

The  site  of  the  town  where  Lincoln  spent  the  last  three 
years  of  the  period  covered  in  this  portion  of  his  biography 
is  now  a desolate  waste.  A gentleman  who  visited  the 
spot  during  the  summer  of  1885  thus  describes  the  mourn- 
ful scene:  “From  the  hill  where  I sit,  under  the  shade  of 
three  trees  whose  branches  make  one,  I look  out  over  the 
Sangamon  river  and  its  banks  covered  apparently  with 
primeval  forests.  Around  are  fields  overgrown  with 
weeds  and  stunted  oaks.  It  was  a town  of  ten  or  twelve 
years  only.  It  began  in  1824  and  ended  in  1836.  Yet  in 
that  time  it  had  a history  which  the  world  will  not  let  die 
as  long  as  it  venerates  the  memory  of  the  noble  liberator 
and  martyr  President,  Abraham  Lincoln.” 


CHAPTER  III 


Lincoln’s  Beginning  as  a Lawyer  — His  Early  Taste  for  Politics  — 
Lincoln  and  the  Lightning-Rod  Man  — Not  an  Aristocrat  — Reply 
to  Dr.  Early — • A Manly  Letter  — Again  in  the  Illinois  Legislature 
— The  “Long  Nine”  — Lincoln  on  His  Way  to  the  Capital  — His 
Ambition  in  1836  — First  Meeting  with  Douglas  — Removal  of 
the  Illinois  Capital  — One  of  Lincoln’s  Early  Speeches  — Pro- 
Slavery  Sentiment  in  Illinois  — Lincoln’s  Opposition  to  Slavery  — 
Contest  with  General  Ewing  — Lincoln  Lays  out  a Town  — The 
Title  “ Honest  Abe.” 


BRAHAM  LINCOLN’S  career  as  a lawyer  covered 


rv  a period  of  a quarter  of  a century,  beginning  about 
1834  or  ’35,  and  ending  with  his  election  to  the  Presidency, 
in  November,  1860.  When  he  began  his  professional  life 
he  was  an  obscure  and  unpromising  youth  of  twenty-five, 
with  but  little  learning  and  fewer  accomplishments,  and 
without  advantages  of  social  influence  or  wealthy  friends. 
Step  by  step,  with  patient  industry  and  unflinching  de- 
termination, he  climbed  the  ladder  of  professional  advance- 
ment until  he  stood  among  the  foremost  lawyers  of  the 
West.  He  had,  indeed,  won  a national  reputation;  and 
when  he  laid  aside  his  law  books,  a mature  man  of  fifty, 
it  was  to  enter  upon  the  great  honors  and  responsibilities 
of  the  Presidency  of  the  American  Republic. 

Lincoln  was  devoted  to  his  profession,  and  his  success 
in  it  was  earned  by  hard  and  constant  application.  But 
his  natural  taste  for  politics  led  him  to  take  a full  share  in 
the  activities  of  political  life.  He  had  already  served  a 
term  in  the  Illinois  Legislature  (1834-35),  and  so  well 
satisfied  were  his  constituents  that  they  renominated  him 
for  the  succeeding  term.  In  the  canvass  which  followed 
he  distinguished  himself  as  a stump-speaker;  showing, 


56  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


by  his  tact  and  ability,  by  the  skill  and  ingenuity  with 
which  he  met  his  opponents  in  debate,  by  his  shrewdness 
in  attack  and  readiness  in  retort,  how  much  he  had  profited 
by  the  training  of  the  previous  years. 

An  incident  illustrating  his  ready  wit  and  his  keen 
insight  into  human  nature  occurred  early  in  this  campaign, 
at  Springfield,  where  a public  discussion  was  held  between 
the  opposing  candidates.  An  interesting  version  of  this 
incident  is  given  by  Mr.  Arnold:  “There  lived  at  this  time 
in  the  most  pretentious  house  in  Springfield  a prominent 
citizen  named  George  Forquer.  He  had  been  long  in 
public  life,  had  been  a leading  Whig  — the  party  to  which 
Lincoln  belonged  — but  had  lately  gone  over  to  the 
Democrats,  and  had  received  from  the  Democratic  admin- 
istration an  appointment  to  the  lucrative  post  of  Register 
of  the  Land  Office  at  Springfield.  Upon  his  handsome 
new  house  he  had  lately  placed  a lightning-rod,  the  first 
one  ever  put  up  in  Sangamon  County.  As  Lincoln  was 
riding  into  town  with  his  friends,  they  passed  the  fine  house 
of  Forquer,  and  observed  the  novelty  of  the  lightning-rod, 
discussing  the  manner  in  which  it  protected  the  house 
from  being  struck  by  lightning.  In  this  discussion  there 
were  seven  Whig  and  seven  Democratic  candidates  for 
the  lower  branch  of  the  Legislature;  and  after  several  had 
spoken  it  fell  to  Lincoln  to  close  the  arguments.  This  he 
did  with  great  ability.  Forquer,  though  not  a candidate, 
then  asked  to  be  heard  for  the  Democrats  in  reply  to 
Lincoln.  He  was  a good  speaker  and  well-known  through- 
out the  county.  His  special  task  that  day  was  to  attack 
and  ridicule  the  young  man  from  Salem.  Turning  to 
Lincoln,  who  stood  within  a few  feet  of  him,  he  said: 
‘This  young  man  must  be  taken  down,  and  I am  truly 
sorry  that  the  task  devolves  upon  me.’  He  then  pro- 
ceeded, in  a very  overbearing  way,  and  with  an  assumption 
of  great  superiority,  to  attack  Lincoln  and  his  speech. 
Lincoln  stood  calm,  but  his  flashing  eye  and  pale  cheek 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  57 


showed  his  indignation.  As  soon  as  Forquer  had  closed 
he  took  the  stand  and  first  answered  his  opponent’s  argu- 
ments fully  and  triumphantly.  So  impressive  were  his 
words  and  manner  that  a hearer  believes  that  he  can 
remember  to  this  day,  and  repeat,  some  of  the  expressions. 
Among  other  things,  he  said:  ‘The  gentleman  com- 
menced his  speech  by  saying  that  this  young  man  — allud- 
ing to  me  — must  be  taken  down.  I am  not  so  young 
in  years  as  I am  in  the  tricks  and  trades  of  a politician; 
but,’  said  he,  pointing  to  Forquer,  ‘live  long  or  die  young, 
I would  rather  die  now,  than,  like  the  gentleman,  change 
my  politics  for  a three  thousand  dollar  office,  and  then 
feel  obliged  to  erect  a lightning-rod  over  my  house  to 
protect  a guilty  conscience  from  the  vengeance  of  an 
offended  God!”’ 

“It  is  difficult  to-day,”  says  Mr.  Arnold,  “to  appreciate 
the  effect  on  the  old  settlers,  of  this  figure.  This  light- 
ning-rod was  the  first  which  most  of  those  present  had  ever 
seen.  They  had  slept  all  their  lives  in  their  cabins  in 
conscious  security.  Here  was  a man  who  seemed,  to  these 
simple-minded  people,  to  be  afraid  to  sleep  in  his  own 
house  without  special  and  extraordinary  protection  from 
Almighty  God.  These  old  settlers  thought  nothing  but 
the  consciousness  of  guilt,  the  stings  of  a guilty  conscience, 
could  account  for  such  timidity.  Forquer  and  his  light- 
ning-rod were  talked  over  in  every  settlement  from 
Sangamon  to  the  Illinois  and  the  Wabash.  Whenever 
he  rose  to  speak  thereafter,  they  said,  ‘There  is  the  man 
who  dare  not  sleep  in  his  own  house  without  a lightning- 
rod  to  keep  off  the  vengeance  of  the  Almighty.’” 

Another  amusing  incident  of  the  same  campaign,  and 
one  which  illustrates  Lincoln’s  love  of  a practical  joke,  is 
given  as  follows:  “Among  the  Democrats  stumping  the 
county  at  this  time  was  one  Dick  Taylor,  a most  pompous 
person,  who  was  always  arrayed  in  the  richest  attire  — 
ruffled  shirts,  seals,  etc.,  besides  a rich  embroidered  vest. 


58  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Notwithstanding  this  array,  he  made  great  pretentions  of 
being  one  of  the  ‘hard-handed  yeomanry,’  and  ridiculed 
with  much  sarcasm  the  ‘rag  barons’  and  ‘manufacturing 
lords  ’ of  the  Whig  party.  One  day,  when  he  was  particu- 
larly aggravating  in  a speech  of  this  kind,  Lincoln  decided 
on  a little  sport,  and  sidling  up  to  Taylor  suddenly  threw 
open  the  latter’s  coat,  showing  to  the  astonished  spectators 
a glittering  mass  of  ruffled  shirt,  gold  watch,  and  glittering 
jewels.  The  crowd  shouted  uproariously.  Lincoln  said: 
‘While  he  [Colonel  Taylor]  was  making  these  charges 
against  the  Whigs  over  the  country,  riding  in  fine  carriages, 
wearing  ruffled  shirts,  kid  gloves,  massive  gold  watch- 
chains  with  large  gold  seals,  and  flourishing  a heavy  gold- 
headed cane,  I was  a poor  boy,  hired  on  a flatboat  at  eight 
dollars  a month,  and  had  only  one  pair  of  breeches  to  my 
name,  and  they  were  buckskin,  — and  if  you  know  the 
nature  of  buckskin,  when  wet  and  dried  by  the  sun  it  will 
shrink,  — and  mine  kept  shrinking  until  they  left  several 
inches  of  my  legs  bare  between  the  tops  of  my  socks  and 
the  lower  part  of  my  breeches.  Whilst  I was  growing 
taller,  they  were  becoming  shorter  and  so  much  tighter  that 
they  left  a blue  streak  around  my  legs  that  can  be  seen  to 
this  day.  If  you  call  this  aristocracy,  I plead  guilty  to  the 
charge.’” 

“The  Saturday  evening  preceding  the  election,”  says 
Mr.  Lamon,  “the  candidates  were  addressing  the  people 
in  the  Court  House  at  Springfield.  Dr.  Early,  one  of 
the  candidates  on  the  Democratic  side,  made  some 
charge  which  Mr.  N.  W.  Edwards,  one  of  the  candidates 
on  the  Whig  side,  deemed  untrue.  Edwards  climbed  on 
a table,  so  as  to  be  seen  by  Early  and  by  everyone  in  the 
house,  and  at  the  top  of  his  voice  told  Early  that  the 
charge  was  false.  The  excitement  that  followed  was  in- 
tense - — so  much  so  that  fighting  men  thought  a duel 
must  settle  the  difficulty.  Lincoln,  by  the  programme, 
followed  Early.  He  took  up  the  subject  in  dispute  and 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  59 


handled  it  fairly  and  with  such  ability  that  everyone  was 
astonished  and  pleased.  So  that  difficulty  ended  there. 
Then  for  the  first  time,  aroused  by  the  excitement  of  the 
occasion,  he  spoke  in  that  tenor  intonation  of  voice  that 
ultimately  settled  down  into  that  clear,  shrill  monotone 
style  that  afterwards  characterized  his  public  speaking, 
and  enabled  his  audience,  however  large,  to  hear  distinctly 
the  lowest  sound  of  his  voice.”  Mr.  Arnold  says’  that 
Lincoln’s  reply  to  Dr.  Early  was  “often  spoken  of  as 
exhibiting  wonderful  ability,  and  a crushing  power  of 
sarcasm  and  ridicule.  When  he  began  he  was  embar- 
rassed, spoke  slowly  and  with  some  hesitation  and  diffi- 
culty. But  becoming  excited  by  his  subject,  he  forgot 
himself  entirely,  and  went  on  with  argument  and  wit, 
anecdote  and  ridicule,  until  his  opponent  was  completely 
crushed.  Old  settlers  of  Sangamon  County  who  heard 
this  reply  speak  of  his  personal  transformation  as  wonder- 
ful. When  Lincoln  began,  they  say,  he  seemed  awkward, 
homely,  unprepossessing.  As  he  went  on,  and  became 
excited,  his  figure  rose  to  its  full  height  and  became  com- 
manding and  majestic.  His  plain  face  was  illuminated 
and  glowed  with  expression.  His  dreamy  eye  flashed  with 
inspiration,  and  his  whole  person,  his  voice,  his  gestures, 
were  full  of  the  magnetism  of  powerful  feeling,  of  conscious 
strength  and  true  eloquence.” 

The  inflexible  honesty  and  fine  sense  of  honor  which 
lay  at  the  foundation  of  Lincoln’s  character  are  nobly 
exhibited  in  the  following  letter  to  a former  friend  but 
now  political  opponent,  Col.  Robert  Allen: 

Dear  Colonel:  — I am  told  that  during  my  absence 
last  week,  you  passed  through  this  place,  and  stated  pub- 
licly that  you  were  in  possession  of  a fact  or  facts  which, 
if  known  to  the  public,  would  entirely  destroy  the  prospects 
of  N.  W.  Edwards  and  myself  at  the  ensuing  election,  but 
that  through  favor  to  us  you  would  forbear  to  divulge 
them.  No  one  has  needed  favors  more  than  I,  and 
generally  few  have  been  less  unwilling  to  accept  them; 


60  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


but  in  this  case  favor  to  me  would  be  injustice  to  the 
public,  and  therefore  I must  beg  your  pardon  for  declining 
it.  That  I once  had  the  confidence  of  the  people  of  Sanga- 
mon County  is  sufficiently  evident;  and  if  I have  since  done 
anything,  either  by  design  or  misadventure,  which  if  known 
would  subject  me  to  a forfeiture  of  that  confidence,  he 
who  knows  of  that  thing  and  conceals  it  is  a traitor  to  his 
country’s  interest. 

I find  myself  wholly  unable  to  form  any  conjecture  of 
what  fact  or  facts,  real  or  supposed,  you  spoke.  But  my 
opinion  of  your  veracity  will  not  permit  me  for  a moment 
to  doubt  that  you  at  least  believed  what  you  said.  I am 
flattered  with  the  personal  regard  you  manifested  for  me; 
but  I do  hope  that  on  more  mature  reflection  you  will 
view  the  public  interest  as  a paramount  consideration, 
and  therefore  determine  to  let  the  worst  come. 

I assure  you  that  the  candid  statement  of  facts  on  your 
part,  however  low  it  may  sink  me,  shall  never  break  the 
ties  of  personal  friendship  between  us. 

I wish  an  answer  to  this,  and  you  are  at  liberty  to  pub- 
lish both  if  you  choose. 

Very  respectfully, 

A.  Lincoln. 

Col.  Robert  Allen. 


The  campaign  resulted  in  Lincoln’s  election  to  the 
Legislature  of  1836.  The  nine  delegates  from  Sangamon 
County  happened  to  be  men  of  remarkable  stature, 
each  one  measuring  six  feet  or  more  in  height;  and 
very  naturally  they  were  nicknamed  the  “Long  Nine.” 
Lincoln  overtopped  all  the  rest,  and  as  a consequence 
was  called  “the  Sangamon  Chief.”  The  State  capital 
was  then  at  Vandalia;  and  Lincoln’s  journey  there 
from  Springfield  was  made  mainly  on  foot.  As  he 
was  trudging  along  the  muddy  road,  he  fell  in  with 
Judge  John  Dean  Caton,  one  of  the  early  lawyers 
of  Illinois,  afterwards  Chief  Justice  of  the  State,  who 
became  an  intimate  friend  of  Lincoln.  Judge  Caton 
gives  an  interesting  account  of  their  first  meeting, 
which  occurred  at  this  time.  “I  first  met  Mr.  Lincoln,” 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  61 


says  Judge  Caton,  “about  the  last  of  November,  1835, 
when  on  my  way  to  Vandalia  to  join  the  Supreme  Court, 
which  met  there  the  first  Monday  in  December,  at  the 
same  time  as  the  meeting  of  the  Legislature.  There  were 
a great  many  people  and  all  sorts  of  vehicles  on  the  road 
from  Springfield  to  Vandalia.  The  roads  were  very  bad, 
and  most  of  the  passengers  got  out  and  walked  a con- 
siderable portion  of  the  distance.  It  seemed  almost  like 
the  movement  of  a little  army.  While  walking  thus  along 
the  side  of  the  road  I met  Mr.  Lincoln  for  the  first  time, 
and  in  the  course  of  a two  days’  journey  we  became  quite 
well  acquainted.  If  he  had  been  admitted  to  the  bar  at 
that  time,  he  had  not  become  known  as  a lawyer  out  of 
his  own  immediate  circuit.  He  was  going  to  Vandalia  as 
a member  of  the  Legislature.  He  was  one  of  the  ‘Long 
Nine,’  as  it  was  called,  from  Sangamon  County,  who  by 
their  successful  manoeuvring  and  united  efforts  succeeded 
in  getting  the  seat  of  government  moved  from  Vandalia 
to  Springfield.  During  my  stay  of  a few  weeks  in  Vandalia 
I frequently  met  Mr.  Lincoln.  He  was  a very  pleasant 
companion;  but  as  we  walked  along  the  road  on  the  occa- 
sion referred  to,  talking  about  indifferent  subjects,  nothing 
impressed  me  with  any  idea  of  his  future  greatness.” 

When  Lincoln  took  his  seat  in  the  first  session  of  the 
new  Legislature  at  Vandalia,  his  mind  was  full  of  new 
projects.  His  real  public  service  was  now  about  to  begin, 
and  having  spent  his  time  in  the  previous  Legislature 
mainly  as  an  observer  and  listener  he  was  determined  dur- 
ing this  session  to  identify  himself  conspicuously  with  the 
“liberal”  progressive  legislation,  dreaming  of  a fame  far 
different  from  that  he  actually  obtained  as  an  anti- 
slavery leader.  As  he  remarked  to  his  friend  Speed,  he 
hoped  to  obtain  the  great  distinction  of  being  called  “the 
De  Witt  Clinton  of  Illinois.” 

It  was  at  a special  session  of  this  Legislature  that 
Lincoln  first  saw  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  his  great  political 


62  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


antagonist  of  the  future,  whom  he  describes  as  “the  least 
man”  he  ever  saw.  Douglas  had  come  into  the  State 
from  Vermont  only  the  previous  year,  and  having  studied 
law  for  several  months  considered  himself  eminently 
qualified  to  be  State’s  attorney  for  the  district  in  which 
he  lived.  General  Linder  says  of  the  two  men  at  this 
time:  “I  here  had  an  opportunity,  better  than  any  I had 
previously  possessed,  of  measuring  the  intellectual  stature 
of  Abraham  Lincoln.  He  was  then  about  twenty-seven 
years  old  — my  own  age.  Douglas  was  four  years  our 
junior;  consequently  he  could  not  have  been  over  twenty- 
three  years  old.  Yet  he  was  a very  ready  and  expert 
debater,  even  at  that  early  period  of  his  life.  He  and 
Lincoln  were  very  frequently  pitted  against  each  other, 
being  of  different  politics.  They  both  commanded 
marked  attention  and  respect.” 

A notable  measure  effected  by  the  “Long  Nine”  during 
this  session  of  the  Legislature  was  the  removal  of  the 
State  Capital  from  Vandalia  to  Springfield.  It  was  ac- 
complished by  dint  of  shrewd  and  persistent  management, 
in  which  Lincoln  was  a leading  spirit.  Mr.  Robert 
L.  Wilson,  one  of  his  colleagues,  says:  “When  our  bill  to 
all  appearance  was  dead  beyond  resuscitation,  and  our 
friends  could  see  no  hope,  Lincoln  never  for  a moment 
despaired.  Collecting  his  colleagues  in  his  room  for 
consultation,  his  practical  common-sense,  his  thorough 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  made  him  an  overmatch  for 
his  compeers,  and  for  any  man  I have  ever  known.” 

Lincoln’s  reputation  as  an  orator  was  gradually  extend- 
ing beyond  the  circle  of  his  friends  and  constituents.  He 
was  gaining  notice  as  a ready  and  forcible  speaker,  with 
shrewd  and  sensible  ideas  which  he  expressed  with  striking 
originality  and  independence.  He  was  invited  to  address 
the  Young  Men’s  Lyceum  at  Springfield,  January  27, 
1837,  and  read  a carefully  prepared  paper  on  “The  Per- 
petuation of  Our  Political  Institutions,”  which  was  after- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  63 


wards  published  in  the  Springfield  “Weekly  Journal.” 
The  address  was  crude  and  strained  in  style,  but  the  feeling 
pervading  it  was  fervent  and  honest,  and  its  patriotic 
sentiment  and  sound  reflection  made  it  effective  for  the 
occasion.  A few  paragraphs  culled  from  this  paper,  some 
of  them  containing  remarkable  prophetic  passages,  afford 
a clue  to  the  stage  of  intellectual  development  which 
Lincoln  had  reached  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  and  an 
interesting  contrast  with  the  terser  style  of  his  later  years. 

In  the  great  journal  of  things  happening  under  the  sun, 
we,  the  American  people,  find  our  account  running  under 
date  of  the  nineteenth  century  of  the  Christian  era.  We 
find  ourselves  in  the  peaceful  possession  of  the  fairest 
portion  of  the  earth,  as  regards  extent  of  territory,  fertility 
of  soil,  and  salubrity  of  climate.  We  find  ourselves  under 
the  government  of  a system  of  political  institutions  con- 
ducing more  essentially  to  the  ends  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty  than  any  of  which  the  history  of  former  times  tells 
us.  We,  when  mounting  the  stage  of  existence,  found 
ourselves  the  legal  inheritors  of  these  fundamental  bless- 
ings. WTe  toiled  not  in  the  acquisition  or  establishment  of 
them;  they  are  a legacy  bequeathed  us  by  a once  hardy, 
brave  and  patriotic,  but  now  lamented  and  departed  race 
of  ancestors.  Theirs  was  the  task  (and  nobly  they  per- 
formed it)  to  possess  themselves,  and,  through  them- 
selves, us,  of  this  goodly  land,  and  to  uprear  upon  its  hills 
and  valleys  a political  edifice  of  liberty  and  equal  rights; 
’tis  ours  only  to  transmit  these  — the  former  unprofaned 
by  the  foot  of  an  invader,  the  latter  undecayed  by  the 
lapse  of  time  and  untorn  by  usurpation  - — to  the  latest 
generation  that  fate  shall  permit  the  world  to  know. 
This  task,  gratitude  to  our  fathers,  justice  to  ourselves, 
duty  to  posterity,  all  imperatively  require  us  faithfully 
to  perform. 

How,  then,  shall  we  perform  it?  At  what  point  shall  we 
expect  the  approach  of  danger?  Shall  we  expect  some 
transatlantic  military  giant  to  step  the  ocean  and  crush  us 
at  a blow?  Never!  All  the  armies  of  Europe,  Asia,  and 
Africa  combined,  with  all  the  treasure  of  the  earth  (our 
own  excepted)  in  their  military  chest,  with  a Bonaparte 
for  a commander,  could  not,  by  force,  take  a drink  from 


64  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


the  Ohio,  or  make  a track  on  the  Blue  Ridge,  in  a trial  of 
a thousand  years ! At  what  point,  then,  is  the  approach  of 
danger  to  be  expected?  I answer,  if  it  ever  reach  us,  it 
must  spring  up  amongst  ourselves.  It  cannot  come  from 
abroad.  If  destruction  be  our  lot,  we  must  ourselves  be 
its  author  and  finisher.  As  a nation  of  free  men,  we  must 
live  through  all  time,  or  die  by  suicide.  I hope  I am  not 
over-wary;  but,  if  I am  not,  there  is  even  now  something 
of  ill-omen  amongst  us.  I mean  the  increasing  disregard 
for  law  which  pervades  the  country,  the  growing  disposi- 
tion to  substitute  the  wild  and  furious  passions  in  lieu  of 
the  sober  judgment  of  the  courts,  and  the  worse  than 
savage  mobs  for  the  executive  ministers  of  justice.  This 
disposition  is  awfully  fearful  in  any  community;  and  that 
it  now  exists  in  ours,  though  grating  to  our  feelings  to  ad- 
mit it,  it  would  be  a violation  of  truth  and  an  insult  to  our 
intelligence  to  deny.  Accounts  of  outrages  committed  by 
mobs  form  the  every-day  news  of  the  times.  They  have 
pervaded  the  country  from  New  England  to  Louisiana; 
they  are  neither  peculiar  to  the  eternal  snows  of  the  former, 
nor  the  burning  sun  of  the  latter.  They  are  not  the 
creature  of  climate;  neither  are  they  confined  to  the 
slaveholding  or  non-slaveholding  States.  Alike  they 
spring  up  among  the  pleasure-hunting  masters  of  Southern 
slaves  and  the  order-loving  citizens  of  the  land  of  steady 
habits.  Whatever  their  course  may  be,  it  is  common  to 
the  whole  country.  Here,  then,  is  one  point  at  which 
danger  may  be  expected.  The  question  recurs,  How  shall 
we  fortify  against  it?  The  answer  is  simple.  Let  every 
American,  every  lover  of  liberty,  every  well-wisher  to  his 
posterity,  swear  by  the  blood  of  the  Revolution,  never  to 
violate  in  the  least  particular  the  laws  of  the  country,  and 
never  to  tolerate  their  violation  by  others.  As  the  patriots 
of  ‘seventy-six’  did  to  the  support  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  so  to  the  support  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
Laws  let  every  American  pledge  his  life,  his  property,  and 
his  sacred  honor;  let  every  man  remember  that  to  violate 
the  law  is  to  trample  on  the  blood  of  his  father,  and  to 
tear  the  charter  of  his  own  and  his  children’s  liberty.  Let 
reverence  for  the  laws  be  breathed  by  every  American 
mother  to  the  lisping  babe  that  prattles  on  her  lap.  Let  it 
be  taught  in  schools,  in  seminaries,  and  in  colleges.  Let 
it  be  written  in  primers,  spelling-books,  and  in  almanacs. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  65 


Let  it  be  preached  from  the  pulpit,  proclaimed  in  legisla- 
tive halls,  and  enforced  in  courts  of  justice.  And,  in  short, 
let  it  become  the  political  religion  of  the  nation. 

During  the  years  of  Lincoln’s  service  in  the  Illinois 
Legislature  the  Democratic  party  was  strongly  dominant 
throughout  the  State.  The  feeling  on  the  subject  of 
slavery  was  decidedly  in  sympathy  with  the  South.  A 
large  percentage  of  the  settlers  in  the  southern  and  middle 
portions  of  Illinois  were  from  States  in  which  slave  labor 
was  maintained;  and  although  the  determination  not  to 
permit  the  institution  to  obtain  a foothold  in  the  new 
commonwealth  was  general,  the  people  were  opposed  to 
any  action  which  should  affect  its  condition  where  it 
was  already  established.  During  the  sessions  of  1836-7 
resolutions  of  an  extreme  pro-slavery  character  were 
carried  through  the  Legislature  by  the  Democratic  party, 
aiming  to  prevent  the  Abolitionists  from  obtaining  a 
foothold  in  the  State.  Lincoln  could  not  conscientiously 
support  the  resolutions,  nor  hold  his  peace  concerning 
them.  He  did  not  shrink  from  the  issue,  but  at  the 
hazard  of  losing  his  political  popularity  and  the  gratifying 
prospects  that  were  opening  before  him  he  drew  up  a 
protest  against  the  pro-slavery  enactment  and  had  it 
entered  upon  the  Journal  of  the  House.  The  state  of 
public  opinion  in  Illinois  at  that  time  may  be  judged  by 
the  fact  that  of  the  hundred  Representatives  in  the  House 
only  one  had  the  courage  to  sign  the  protest  with  him. 
Lincoln’s  protest  was  as  follows: 

March  3,  1837. 

The  following  protest,  presented  to  the  House,  was  read 
and  ordered  to  be  spread  on  the  journals,  to  wit: 

Resolutions  upon  the  subject  of  domestic  slavery  having 
passed  both  branches  of  the  General  Assembly  at  its  pres- 
ent session,  the  undersigned  hereby  protest  against  the 
passage  of  the  same. 

They  believe  that  the  institution  of  slavery  is  founded 
on  both  injustice  and  bad  policy;  but  that  the  promulga- 


66  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


tion  of  abolition  doctrines  tends  rather  to  increase  than 
abate  its  evils. 

They  believe  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  has 
no  power,  under  the  Constitution,  to  interfere  with  the 
institution  of  slavery  in  the  different  States. 

They  believe  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  has 
the  power,  under  the  Constitution,  to  abolish  slavery  in 
the  District  of  Columbia,  but  that  the  power  ought  not  to 
be  exercised,  unless  at  the  request  of  the  people  of  the 
District. 

The  difference  between  these  opinions  and  those  con- 
tained in  the  said  resolutions,  is  their  reason  for  entering 
this  protest. 

(Signed)  Dan  Stone, 

A.  Lincoln, 

Representatives  from  the  County  of  Sangamon. 

The  great  financial  panic  which  swept  over  the  country 
in  1837  rendered  expedient  an  extra  session  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, which  was  called  together  in  July.  General  Lee  D. 
Ewing  had  been  elected  to  this  session  from  Fayette 
County  for  the  express  purpose  of  repealing  the  law  re- 
moving the  capital  from  Vandalia  to  Springfield.  “Gen- 
eral Ewing  was,”  says  Mr.  Linder,  “a  man  of  considerable 
notoriety,  popularity,  and  talents.  He  had  been  a 
member  of  Congress  from  Illinois,  and  had  filled  various 
State  offices  in  his  time.  He  was  a man  of  elegant  man- 
ners, great  personal  courage,  and  would  grace  either  the 
salons  of  fashion  or  the  Senate  chamber  at  Washington. 
The  Legislature  opened  its  special  session  (I  was  there  as  a 
spectator),  and  General  Ewing  sounded  the  tocsin  of  war. 
He  said  that  ‘the  arrogance  of  Springfield,  its  presumption 
in  claiming  the  seat  of  government,  was  not  to  be  endured; 
that  the  law  had  been  passed  by  chicanery  and  trickery; 
that  the  Springfield  delegation  had  sold  out  to  the  internal 
improvement  men,  and  had  promised  their  support  to 
every  measure  that  would  gain  them  a vote  to  the  law 
removing  the  seat  of  government.’  He  said  many  other 
things,  cutting  and  sarcastic.  Lincoln  was  chosen  by 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  67 


his  colleagues  to  reply  to  Ewing;  and  I want  to  say  here 
that  this  was  the  first  time  that  I began  to  conceive  a very 
high  opinion  of  the  talents  and  personal  courage  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln.  He  retorted  upon  Ewing  with  great  severity, 
denouncing  his  insinuations  imputing  corruption  to 
him  and  his  colleagues,  and  paying  back  with  usury  all 
that  Ewing  had  said,  when  everybody  thought  and 
believed  that  he  was  digging  his  own  grave;  for  it  was 
known  that  Ewing  would  not  quietly  pocket  any  insinua- 
tions that  would  degrade  him  personally.  I recollect  his 
reply  to  Lincoln  well.  After  addressing  the  Speaker,  he 
turned  to  the  Sangamon  delegation,  who  all  sat  in  the 
same  portion  of  the  house,  and  said:  ‘Gentlemen,  have 
you  no  other  champion  than  this  coarse  and  vulgar  fellow 
to  bring  into  the  lists  against  me?  Do  you  suppose  that 
I Will  condescend  to  break  a lance  with  your  low  and 
obscure  colleague?’  We  were  all  very  much  alarmed  for 
fear  there  would  be  a personal  conflict  between  Ewing  and 
Lincoln.  It  was  confidently  believed  that  a challenge 
must  pass  between  them;  but  friends  on  both  sides  took 
the  matter  in  hand,  and  it  was  settled  without  anything 
serious  growing  out  of  it.” 

When  the  legislative  session  ended,  in  February,  1837, 
Lincoln  returned  to  a job  of  surveying  which  he  had 
begun  a year  before  at  Petersburg,  near  his  old  home  at 
Salem.  He  spent  a month  or  two  at  Petersburg,  com- 
pleting the  surveying  and  planning  of  the  towm.  That 
his  work  was  well  and  satisfactorily  done  is  attested  by 
many  — among  them  by  Mr.  John  Bennett,  wrho  lived  in 
Petersburg  at  the  time.  “My  earliest  acquaintance  with 
Lincoln,”  says  Mr.  Bennett,  “began  on  his  return  from 
Vandalia,  where  he  had  spent  the  winter  as  a member 
of  the  Legislature  from  Sangamon  County.  Lincoln  spent 
most  of  the  month  of  March  in  Petersburg,  finishing  up 
the  survey  and  planning  of  the  town  he  had  commenced 
the  year  before.  I was  a great  deal  in  his  company,  and 


68  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


formed  a high  estimate  of  his  worth  and  social  qualities, 
which  was  strengthened  by  many  years  of  subsequent 
social  intercourse  and  business  transactions,  finding  him 
always  strictly  honest.  In  fact,  he  was  now  generally 
spoken  of  in  this  region  as  ‘Honest  Abe.’  After  Menard 
County  was  formed  out  of  a portion  of  Sangamon  County, 
and  the  county  seat  established  at  Petersburg,  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  a regular  attendant  at  the  courts.  I was  then  keeping 
a hotel,  and  he  was  one  of  my  regular  customers.  Here 
he  met  many  of  his  old  cronies  of  his  early  days  at  Salem, 
and  they  spent  the  most  of  the  nights  in  telling  stories  or 
spinning  long  yarns,  of  which  Mr.  Lincoln  was  particularly 
fond.” 


CHAPTER  IV 


Lincoln’s  Removal  to  Springfield  — A Lawyer  without  Clients  or  Money 
— Early  Discouragements  — Proposes  to  Become  a Carpenter  — 
“ Stuart  & Lincoln,  Attorneys  at  Law  ” — “ Riding  the  Circuit  ” — 
Incidents  of  a Trip  Round  the  Circuit  — Pen  Pictures  of  Lincoln  — 
Humane  Traits  — Kindness  to  Animals  — Defending  Fugitive 
Slaves  — Incidents  in  Lincoln’s  Life  as  a Lawyer  — His  Fondness 
for  Jokes  and  Stories. 


INCOLN’S  removal  from  New  Salem  to  Springfield, 


Lj  where  his  more  active  life  as  a lawyer  began,  oc- 
curred in  April,  1837,  soon  after  the  completion  of  his 
survey  work  at  Petersburg.  The  event  was  closely 
connected  with  the  removal  of  the  State  capital  from 
Vandalia  to  Springfield,  the  law  for  which  was  passed  at 
the  legislative  session  of  1836-7.  As  has  been  stated, 
Lincoln  was  a member  of  that  Legislature  and  was  active 
in  procuring  the  passage  of  the  bill.  The  citizens  of 
Springfield  were  very  desirous  of  the  removal  of  the 
capital  to  their  town,  and  many  of  them  were  present  at 
the  session  when  the  measure  was  up  for  discussion.  They 
had  thus  become  acquainted  with  Lincoln;  they  were 
favorably  impressed  as  to  his  abilities  and  character,  and 
pleased  with  his  efforts  in  the  matter  in  which  they  were 
so  greatly  interested.  Through  their  influence  and 
encouragement  he  chose  Springfield  as  his  future  home. 

Lincoln’s  first  interview,  after  his  arrival  in  Springfield, 
was  with  Mr.  Joshua  F.  Speed,  with  whom  he  already  had 
a slight  acquaintance,  and  who  details  the  circumstances 
of  their  meeting.  “He  had  ridden  into  town,”  says  Mr. 
Speed,  “on  a borrowed  horse,  with  no  earthly  property 
save  a pair  of  saddle-bags  containing  a few  clothes.  I was 
a merchant  at  Springfield,  and  kept  a large  country  store, 


70  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


embracing  dry  goods,  groceries,  hardware,  books,  medi- 
cines, bed-clothes,  mattresses,  — in  fact,  everything  that 
country  people  needed.  Lincoln  came  into  the  store 
with  his  saddle-bags  on  his  arm,  and  said  he  wanted  to 
buy  the  fixings  for  a single  bed.  The  mattresses,  blankets, 
sheets,  coverlid,  and  pillow,  according  to  the  figures  made 
by  me,  would  cost  seventeen  dollars.  He  said  that  was 
perhaps  cheap  enough,  but  small  as  the  sum  was  he  was 
unable  to  pay  it.  But  if  I would  credit  him  till  Christmas, 
and  his  experiment  as  a lawyer  was  a success,  he  would 
pay  then;  adding,  in  the  saddest  tone,  ‘If  I fail  in  this, 
I do  not  know  that  I can  ever  pay  you.’  As  I looked  up 
at  him  I thought  then,  and  think  now,  that  I never  saw  a 
sadder  face.  I said  to  him,  ‘You  seem  to  be  so  much 
pained  at  contracting  so  small  a debt,  I think  I can  suggest 
a plan  by  which  you  can  avoid  the  debt  and  at  the  same 
time  attain  your  end.  I have  a large  room  with  a double 
bed  up-stairs  which  you  are  very  welcome  to  share  with 
me.’  ‘Where  is  your  room?’  said  he.  ‘LTp-stairs,’  said 
I,  pointing  to  a pair  of  winding  stairs  which  led  from  the 
store  to  my  room.  He  took  his  saddle-bags  on  his  arm, 
went  up-stairs,  set  them  down  on  the  floor,  and  came 
down  with  the  most  changed  countenance.  Beaming  with 
pleasure,  he  exclaimed,  ‘Well,  Speed,  I’m  moved!’  Lincoln 
was  then  twenty-eight  years  old.  He  was  a lawyer  with- 
out a client,  with  no  money,  all  his  earthly  wealth  con- 
sisting of  the  clothes  he  wore  and  the  contents  of  his 
saddle-bags.” 

Lincoln  shared  the  same  room  with  Mr.  Speed  during  his 
early  residence  in  Springfield,  taking  his  meals  with  his 
companion  at  the  house  of  Mr.  William  Butler,  with 
whom  he  boarded  for  five  years.  His  professional  ad- 
vancement at  first  was  slow,  and  he  had  periods  of  great 
discouragement.  An  old  settler  of  Illinois,  named  Page 
Eaton,  says:  “I  knew  Lincoln  when  he  first  came  to 
Springfield.  He  was  an  awkward  but  hard-working 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  71 


young  man.  Everybody  said  he  would  never  make  a 
good  lawyer  because  he  was  too  honest.  He  came  to  my 
shop  one  day,  after  he  had  been  here  five  or  six  months, 
and  said  he  had  a notion  to  quit  studying  law  and  learn 
carpentering.  He  thought  there  was  more  need  of  car- 
penters out  here  than  lawyers.”  Soon  after  Lincoln’s 
settlement  in  Springfield,  he  formed  a law  partnership 
with  Major  John  T.  Stuart,  whom  he  had  known  for  some 
years  and  who  already  had  a good  position  at  the  bar. 
This  partnership  began,  according  to  the  statement  of 
Major  Stuart,  on  April  £7,  1837.  It  continued  just  four 
years,  when  it  was  dissolved,  and  Lincoln  and  Judge 
Stephen  T.  Logan  became  partners.  This  latter  partner- 
ship continued  about  two  years,  when,  on  September  £0, 
1843,  the  firm  of  Lincoln  & Herndon  was  formed,  and 
it  continued  to  the  time  of  Lincoln’s  death. 

When  Lincoln  began  to  practice  law,  it  was  the  custom 
in  Illinois  to  “ride  the  circuit,”  a proceeding  of  which  the 
older  communities  of  the  East  know  nothing.  The  State 
of  Illinois,  for  instance,  is  divided  into  a number  of  districts, 
each  composed  of  a number  of  counties,  of  which  a single 
judge,  appointed  or  elected  as  the  case  may  be,  for  that 
purpose,  makes  the  circuit,  holding  courts  at  each  county 
seat.  Railroads  being  scarce,  the  earlier  circuit  judges 
made  their  trips  from  county  to  county  on  horseback  or 
in  a gig;  and  the  prominent  lawyers  living  within  the 
limits  of  the  circuit  made  the  tour  of  the  circuit  with  the 
judge.  It  is  said  that  when  Lincoln  first  began  to 
“ride  the  circuit”  he  was  too  poor  to  own  a horse  or 
vehicle,  and  was  compelled  to  borrow  from  his  friends. 
But  in  due  time  he  became  the  proprietor  of  a horse,  which 
he  fed  and  groomed  himself,  and  to  which  he  was  very 
much  attached.  On  this  animal  he  would  set  out  from 
home,  to  be  gone  for  weeks  together,  with  no  baggage  but 
a pair  of  saddle-bags  containing  a change  of  linen,  and  an 
old  cotton  umbrella  to  shelter  him  from  sun  or  rain. 


72  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


When  he  got  a little  more  of  this  world’s  goods  he  set  up 
a one-horse  buggy,  a very  sorry  and  shabby-looking  affair 
which  he  generally  used  when  the  weather  promised  to  be 
bad.  The  other  lawyers  were  always  glad  to  see  him,  and 
landlords  hailed  his  coming  with  pleasure;  but  he  was  one 
of  those  gentle,  uncomplaining  men  whom  they  would 
put  off  with  indifferent  accommodations.  It  was  a signifi- 
cant remark  of  a lawyer  who  was  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  his  habits  and  disposition  that  “Lincoln  was  never 
seated  next  the  landlord  at  a crowded  table,  and  never 
got  a chicken-liver  or  the  best  cut  from  the  roast.”  Lincoln 
once  remarked  to  Mr.  Gillespie  that  he  never  felt  his  own 
unworthiness  so  much  as  when  in  the  presence  of  a hotel 
clerk  or  waiter.  If  rooms  were  scarce,  and  one,  two,  three, 
or  four  gentlemen  were  required  to  lodge  together  in  order 
to  accommodate  some  surly  man  who  “stood  upon  his 
rights,”  Lincoln  was  sure  to  be  one  of  the  unfortunates. 
Yet  he  loved  the  life  of  the  circuit,  and  never  went  home 
without  reluctance. 

In  describing  the  many  experiences  of  the  lawyers 
who  travelled  the  circuits  at  this  period,  Mr.  Arnold 
says:  “The  State  was  settled  with  a hardy,  fearless, 
honest,  but  very  litigious  population.  The  court-house 
was  sometimes  framed  and  boarded,  but  more  fre- 
quently it  was  built  of  logs.  The  judge  sat  upon  a 
raised  platform  behind  a rough  board,  sometimes  covered 
with  green  baize,  for  a table  on  which  to  write  his  notes. 
A small  table  stood  on  the  floor  in  front  for  the  clerk. 
In  the  center  of  the  room  was  another  larger  table  around 
which  in  rude  chairs  the  lawyers  were  grouped,  too  often 
with  their  feet  on  top  of  it.  Rough  benches  were  placed 
there  for  the  jury,  the  parties  to  the  suit,  witnesses  and 
bystanders.  The  court-rooms  were  nearly  always  crowded 
for  here  were  rehearsed  and  acted  the  dramas,  the  trag- 
edies, and  the  comedies  of  real  life.  The  court-house  has 
always  been  a very  attractive  place  to  the  people  of  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  73 


frontier.  It  supplied  the  place  of  theatres,  lecture  and 
concert  rooms,  and  other  places  of  interest  and  amuse- 
ment in  the  older  settlements  and  towns.  The  leading 
lawyers  and  judges  were  the  star  actors,  and  had  each  his 
partisans.  Hence  crowds  attended  the  courts  to  see  the 
judges,  to  hear  the  lawyers  contend,  with  argument  and 
law  and  wit,  for  success,  victory,  and  fame.  The  merits 
and  ability  of  the  leading  advocates,  their  success  or 
discomfiture  in  examining  or  cross-examining  a witness, 
the  ability  of  this  or  that  one  to  obtain  a verdict,  were 
canvassed  at  every  cabin-raising,  bee,  or  horse-race,  and 
at  every  log-house  and  school  in  the  county.  Thus  the 
lawyers  were  stimulated  to  the  utmost  exertion  of  their 
powers,  not  only  by  controversy  and  desire  of  success, 
but  by  the  consciousness  that  their  efforts  were  watched 
with  eagerness  by  friends,  clients,  partisans,  or  rivals. 
From  one  to  another  of  these  rude  court-houses  the 
gentlemen  of  the  bar  passed,  following  the  judge  around 
his  circuits  from  county  to  county,  travelling  generally 
on  horseback,  with  saddle-bags,  brushes,  an  extra  shirt  or 
two,  and  perhaps  two  or  three  law  books.  Sometimes 
two  or  three  lawyers  would  unite  and  travel  in  a buggy, 
and  the  poorer  and  younger  ones  not  seldom  walked. 
But  a horse  was  not  an  unusual  fee,  and  in  those  days  when 
horse  thieves  as  clients  were  but  too  common,  it  was  not 
long  before  a young  man  of  ability  found  himself  well 
mounted. 

“ There  was  very  great  freedom  in  social  intercourse. 
Manners  were  rude,  but  genial,  kind,  and  friendly.  Each 
was  always  ready  to  assist  his  fellows,  and  selfishness  was 
not  tolerated.  The  relations  between  the  bench  and  bar 
were  familiar,  free  and  easy.  Flashes  of  wit  and  humor 
and  repartee  were  constantly  exchanged.  Such  was  the 
life  upon  which  Lincoln  now  entered;  and  there  gathered 
with  him  around  those  pine  tables  of  the  frontier  court- 
house a very  remarkable  combination  of  men,  men  who 


74  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


would  have  been  leaders  of  the  bar  at  Boston  or  New  York, 
Philadelphia  or  Washington;  men  who  would  have  made 
their  mark  in  Westminster  Hall,  or  upon  any  English 
circuit.  At  the  capital  were  John  T.  Stuart,  Stephen  T. 
Logan,  Edward  D.  Baker,  Ninian  W.  Edwards,  Josiah 
Lamborn,  and  many  others.  Among  the  leading  lawyers 
from  other  parts  of  the  State  who  practiced  in  the  Supreme 
and  Federal  Courts  at  the  capital  were  Stephen  A.  Douglas; 
Lyman  Trumbull,  for  many  years  chairman  of  the  judiciary 
committee  of  the  United  States  Senate;  O.  II.  Browning, 
Senator  and  member  of  the  Cabinet  at  Washington; 
William  H.  Bissell,  Member  of  Congress,  and  Governor 
of  the  State;  David  Davis,  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
Senator  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States;  Justin 
Butterfield  of  Chicago,  and  many  others  almost  or  quite 
equally  distinguished.  This  ‘circuit  riding’  involved  all 
sorts  of  adventures.  Hard  fare  at  miserable  country 
taverns,  sleeping  on  the  floor,  and  fording  streams,  were 
every-day  occurrences.  All  such  occurrences  were  met 
with  good  humor  and  often  turned  into  sources  of  frolic 
and  fun.  In  fording  swollen  streams,  Lincoln  was  fre- 
quently sent  forward  as  a scout  or  pioneer.  His  extremely 
long  legs  enabled  him,  by  taking  off  his  boots  and  stock- 
ings, and  by  rolling  up  or  otherwise  disposing  of  his 
trousers,  to  test  the  depth  of  the  stream,  find  the  most 
shallow  water,  and  thus  to  pilot  the  party  through  the 
current  without  wetting  his  garments.” 

A gentleman  who  lived  in  one  of  the  judicial  circuits  of 
Illinois  in  which  Lincoln  had  an  extensive  though  not  very 
lucrative  practice  gives  some  graphic  and  interesting 
reminiscences.  “The  terms  of  the  court  were  held  quar- 
terly and  usually  lasted  about  two  weeks.  They  were 
always  seasons  of  great  importance  and  much  gayety  in 
the  little  town  that  had  the  honor  of  being  the  county 
seat.  Distinguished  members  of  the  bar  from  surrounding 
and  even  from  distant  counties,  ex-judges  and  ex-Members 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  75 


of  Congress,  attended  and  were  personally  and  many  of 
them  popularly  known  to  almost  every  adult,  male  and 
female,  of  the  limited  population.  They  came  in  by  stages 
and  on  horseback.  Among  them  the  one  whose  arrival 
was  looked  forward  to  with  the  most  pleasurable  anticipa- 
tions, and  whose  possible  absence  — although  he  almost 
never  was  absent  — was  feared  with  the  liveliest  emotions 
of  anxiety,  was  ‘Uncle  Abe,’  as  he  was  lovingly  called  by 
us  all.  Sometimes  he  might  happen  to  be  a day  or  two 
late.  Then,  as  the  Bloomington  stage  came  in  at  sundown, 
the  bench  and  bar,  jurors  and  citizens,  would  gather  in 
crowds  at  the  hotel  where  he  always  put  up,  to  give  him  a 
welcome  if,  happily,  he  should  arrive,  and  to  experience 
the  keenest  feelings  of  disappointment  if  he  should  not. 
If  he  arrived,  as  he  alighted  and  stretched  out  both  his 
long  arms  to  shake  hands  with  those  nearest  to  him  and 
with  those  who  approached,  his  homely  face  handsome  in 
its  broad  and  sunshiny  smile,  his  voice  touching  in  its 
kindly  and  cheerful  accents,  everyone  in  his  presence  felt 
lighter  in  heart  and  more  joyous.  He  brought  light  with 
him.  He  loved  his  fellow-men  with  all  the  strength  of  his 
great  nature,  and  those  who  came  in  contact  with  him 
could  not  help  reciprocating  the  love.” 

Another  old  friend  describes  Lincoln  as  being  at  this 
time  “very  plain  in  his  costume,  as  well  as  rather  uncourtly 
in  his  address  and  general  appearance.  His  clothing  was 
of  home  Kentucky  jean,  and  the  first  impression  made  by 
his  tall,  lank  figure  upon  those  who  saw  him  was  not 
specially  prepossessing.  He  had  not  outgrown  his  hard 
backwoods  experience,  and  showed  no  inclination  to  dis- 
guise or  to  cast  behind  him  the  honest  and  manly  though 
unpolished  characteristics  of  his  earlier  days.  Never  was 
a man  further  removed  from  all  snobbish  affectation.  As 
little  was  there,  also,  of  the  demagogue  art  of  assuming  an 
uncouthness  or  rusticity  of  manner  and  outward  habit 
with  the  mistaken  notion  of  thus  securing  particular 


76  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


favor  as  ‘one  of  the  masses.’  He  chose  to  appear  then, 
as  in  all  his  later  life,  precisely  what  he  was.  His  deport- 
ment was  unassuming,  though  without  any  awkwardness 
of  reserve.” 

Mr.  Crane,  an  old  settler  of  Tazewell  County,  says  he 
used  to  see  Lincoln  when  passing  through  Washington, 
in  that  county,  on  his  way  to  attend  court  at  Metamora; 
and  he  remembers  him  as  “dressed  in  a homespun  coat 
that  came  below  his  knees  and  was  out  at  both  elbows.” 

Lincoln’s  tenderness  of  heart  was  displayed  in  his 
treatment  of  animals,  toward  which  he  was  often  perform- 
ing unusual  acts  of  kindness.  On  one  occasion,  as  Mr. 
Speed  relates,  Lincoln  and  the  other  members  of  the 
Springfield  bar  had  been  attending  court  at  Christiansburg, 
and  Mr.  Speed  was  riding  with  them  toward  Springfield. 
There  was  quite  a party  of  these  lawyers,  riding  two  by 
two  along  a country  lane.  Lincoln  and  John  J.  Hardin 
brought  up  the  rear  of  the  cavalcade.  “We  had  passed 
through  a thicket  of  wild  plum  and  crab-apple  trees,” 
says  Mr.  Speed,  “and  stopped  to  water  our  horses. 
Hardin  came  up  alone.  ‘Where  is  Lincoln?’  we  inquired. 
‘Oh,’  replied  he,  ‘when  I saw  him  last  he  had  caught  two 
young  birds  which  the  wind  had  blown  out  of  their  nests, 
and  he  was  hunting  the  nest  to  put  them  back.’  In  a 
short  time  Lincoln  came  up,  having  found  the  nest  and 
placed  the  young  birds  in  it.  The  party  laughed  at  him; 
but  he  said,  ‘I  could  not  have  slept  if  I had  not  restored 
those  little  birds  to  their  mother.’” 

Again,  as  Dr.  Holland  narrates,  “Lincoln  was  one  day 
riding  by  a deep  slough  or  pit  in  which,  to  his  exceeding 
pain,  he  saw  a pig  struggling,  and  with  such  faint  efforts 
that  it  was  evident  that  he  could  not  extricate  himself. 
Lincoln  looked  at  the  pig  and  the  mud  that  enveloped  him, 
and  then  looked  ruefully  at  some  new  clothes  in  which 
he  had  but  a short  time  before  enveloped  himself.  Decid- 
ing against  the  claims  of  the  pig  he  rode  on;  but  he  could 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  77 


not  get  rid  of  the  vision  of  the  poor  brute,  and  at  last, 
after  riding  two  miles,  he  turned  back,  determined  to  rescue 
the  animal  at  the  expense  of  his  new  clothes.  Arrived  at 
the  spot,  he  tied  his  horse,  and  coolly  went  to  work  to  build 
of  old  rails  a passage  to  the  bottom  of  the  hole.  Descend- 
ing on  these  rails,  he  seized  the  pig  and  dragged  him  out, 
but  not  without  serious  damage  to  the  clothes  he  wore. 
Washing  his  hands  in  the  nearest  brook  and  wiping  them 
on  the  grass,  he  mounted  his  gig  and  rode  along.  He 
then  fell  to  examining  the  motive  that  sent  him  back  to 
the  release  of  the  pig.  At  the  first  thought  it  seemed  to  be 
pure  benevolence;  but  at  length  he  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  was  selfishness,  for  he  certainly  went  to  the  pig’s 
relief  in  order  (as  he  said  to  the  friend  to  whom  he  related 
the  incident)  to  ‘take  a pain  out  of  his  own  mind.’” 

Instances  showing  the  integrity,  candor,  unselfishness, 
and  humanity  of  Lincoln’s  conduct  in  his  law  practice 
could  be  multiplied  indefinitely.  The  following  are 
given  by  Dr.  Holland:  “The  lawyers  of  Springfield, 
particularly  those  who  had  political  aspirations,  were 
afraid  to  undertake  the  defense  of  anyone  who  had  been 
engaged  in  helping  off  fugitives  slaves.  It  was  a very 
unpopular  business  in  those  days  and  in  that  locality; 
and  few  felt  that  they  could  afford  to  engage  in  it.  One 
who  needed  such  aid  went  to  Edward  D.  Baker,  and  was 
refused,  distinctly  and  frankly  on  the  ground  that  as  a 
political  man  he  could  not  afford  it.  The  man  applied  to 
an  ardent  anti-slavery  friend  for  advice.  He  spoke  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  and  said,  ‘He’s  not  afraid  of  an  unpopular 
case.  When  I go  for  a lawyer  to  defend  an  arrested  fugi- 
tive slave,  other  lawyers  will  refuse  me.  Blit  if  Mr. 
Lincoln  is  at  home  he  will  always  take  my  case.’” 

An  old  woman  of  seventy -five  years,  the  widow  of  a 
revolutionary  pensioner,  came  tottering  into  his  law  office 
one  day,  and  told  him  that  a certain  pension  agent  had 
charged  her  the  exorbitant  fee  of  two  hundred  dollars  for 


78  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


collecting  her  pension.  Lincoln  was  satisfied  by  her 
representations  that  she  had  been  swindled,  and  finding 
that  she  was  not  a resident  of  the  town,  and  that  she  was 
poor,  gave  her  money,  and  set  about  the  work  of  procuring 
restitution.  He  immediately  entered  suit  against  the 
agent  to  recover  a portion  of  his  ill-gotten  money.  This 
suit  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  that  Lincoln  ever 
conducted.  The  day  before  the  case  came  up  he  asked 
his  partner,  Mr.  Herndon,  to  get  him  a “Life  of  Washing- 
ton,” and  he  spent  the  whole  afternoon  reading  it.  His 
speech  to  the  jury  was  long  remembered.  The  whole 
court-room  was  in  tears  as  he  closed  with  these  words: 
“Gentlemen  of  the  jury.  Time  rolls  by.  The  heroes  of 
’76  have  passed  away.  They  are  encamped  on  the  other 
shore.  This  soldier  has  gone  to  his  rest,  and  now,  crippled, 
blinded,  and  broken,  his  widow  comes  to  you  and  to  me, 
gentlemen  of  the  jury,  to  right  her  wrongs.  She  was  not 
always  as  you  see  her  now.  Once  her  step  was  elastic. 
Her  face  was  fair.  Her  voice  was  as  sweet  as  any  that 
rang  in  the  mountains  of  old  Virginia.  Now  she  is  old. 
She  is  poor  and  defenceless.  Out  here  on  the  prairies  of 
Illinois,  hundreds  of  miles  from  the  scenes  of  her  childhood, 
she  appeals  to  you  and  to  me  who  enjoy  the  privileges 
achieved  for  us  by  the  patriots  of  the  Revolution  for  our 
sympathetic  aid  and  manly  protection.  I have  but  one 
question  to  ask  you,  gentlemen  of  the  jury.  Shall  we 
befriend  her?”  During  the  speech  the  defendant  sat 
huddled  up  in  the  court-room,  writhing  under  the  lash  of 
Lincoln’s  tongue.  The  jury  returned  a verdict  for  every 
cent  that  Lincoln  had  asked.  He  became  the  old  lady’s 
surety  for  costs,  paid  her  hotel  bill  and  sent  her  home 
rejoicing.  He  made  no  charges  for  his  own  or  his  partner’s 
services.  A few  days  afterwards  Mr.  Herndon  picked  up 
a little  scrap  of  paper  in  the  office.  He  looked  at  it  a 
moment,  and  burst  into  a roar  of  laughter.  It  was  Lin- 
coln’s notes  for  the  argument  of  this  case.  They  were 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  79 


unique:  — “No  contract  — Not  professional  services — • 
Unreasonable  charges  — Money  retained  by  Def’t  not 
given  by  Pl’ff.  — Revolutionary  War  — Describe  Valley 
Forge  — Ice  — Soldiers’  bleeding  feet  — Pl’ff’s  husband 

— Soldiers  leaving  home  for  the  army  — Skin  Deft  — 
Close.” 

In  his  Autobiography,  Joseph  Jefferson  tells  how  he 
visited  Springfield  with  a theatrical  company  in  the  early 
days  (1839)  and  planned  to  open  a theatrical  season  in 
that  godly  town.  But  “a  religious  revival  was  in  pro- 
gress, and  the  fathers  of  the  church  not  only  launched 
forth  against  us  in  their  sermons,  but  got  the  city  to  pass 
a new  law  enjoining  a heavy  license  against  our  ‘ unholy’ 
calling.  I forget  the  amount,  but  it  was  large  enough 
to  be  prohibitory.”  The  company  had  begun  the  build- 
ing of  a new  theatre;  and  naturally  the  situation  was 
perplexing.  In  the  midst  of  their  trouble,  says  Mr. 
Jefferson,  “a  young  lawyer  called  on  the  Managers.  He 
had  heard  of  the  injustice,  and  offered,  if  they  would 
place  the  matter  in  his  hands,  to  have  the  license  taken 
off,  — declaring  that  he  only  wanted  to  see  fair  play,  and 
he  would  accept  no  fee  whether  he  failed  or  succeeded. 
The  case  was  brought  up  before  the  council.  The  young 
lawyer  began  his  harangue.  He  handled  the  subject  with 
tact,  skill,  and  humor,  tracing  the  history  of  the  drama 
from  the  time  when  Thespis  acted  in  a cart,  to  the  stage 
of  to-day.  He  illustrated  his  speech  with  a number  of 
anecdotes,  and  kept  the  council  in  a roar  of  laughter. 
His  good  humor  prevailed,  and  the  exorbitant  tax  was 
taken  off.  This  young  lawyer  was  very  popular  in 
Springfield,  and  was  honored  and  beloved  by  all  who 
knew  him;  and  after  the  time  of  which  I write  he  held 
rather  an  important  position  in  the  Government  of  the 
United  States.  He  now  lies  buried  in  Springfield,  under 
a monument  commemorating  his  greatness  and  his  virtues, 

— and  his  name  was  Abraham  Lincoln.” 


80  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Judge  Gillespie  tells  a good  story,  to  the  effect  that 
Lincoln  and  General  U.  P.  Linder  were  once  defending  a 
man  who  was  being  tried  on  a criminal  charge  before 
Judge  David  Davis,  who  said  at  dinner-time  that  the  case 
must  be  disposed  of  that  night.  Lincoln  suggested  that 
the  best  thing  they  could  do  would  be  to  run  Benedict, 
the  prosecuting  attorney,  as  far  into  the  night  as  possible, 
in  hopes  that  he  might,  in  his  rage,  commit  some  indiscre- 
tion that  would  help  their  case.  Lincoln  began,  but  to 
save  his  life  he  could  not  speak  one  hour,  and  the  laboring 
oar  fell  into  Linder’s  hands.  “But,”  said  Lincoln,  “he 
was  equal  to  the  occasion.  He  spoke  most  interestingly 
three  mortal  hours,  about  everything  in  the  world.  He 
discussed  Benedict  from  head  to  foot,  and  put  in  about 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  on  the  subject  of  Benedict’s 
whiskers.”  Lincoln  said  he  never  envied  a man  so  much 
as  he  did  Linder  on  that  occasion.  He  thought  he  was 
inimitable  in  his  capacity  to  talk  interestingly  about 
everything  and  nothing,  by  the  hour. 

But  if  Lincoln  had  not  General  Linder’s  art  of  “talk- 
ing against  time,”  his  wit  often  suggested  some  readier 
method  of  gaining  advantage  in  a case.  On  one  occasion, 
a suit  was  on  trial  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  Sangamon 
County,  in  which  Lincoln  was  attorney  for  the  plaintiff, 
and  Mr.  James  C.  Conkling,  then  a young  man  just  enter- 
ing practice,  was  attorney  for  the  defendant.  It  was  a 
jury  trial,  and  Lincoln  waived  the  opening  argument 
to  the  jury,  leaving  Mr.  Conkling  to  sum  up  his  case  for 
the  defense.  The  latter  spoke  at  considerable  length, 
in  a sophomoric  style,  laboring  under  the  impression  that 
unless  he  made  an  extraordinary  exertion  to  influence  the 
jury  he  would  be  quite  eclipsed  by  Lincoln  in  his 
closing  speech.  But  he  was  completely  taken  back 
by  the  unlooked-for  light  manner  in  which  Lincoln 
treated  the  case  in  his  closing.  Lincoln  proceeded  to 
reply  but,  in  doing  so  he  talked  on  without  making  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  81 


slightest  reference  to  the  case  on  hearing  or  to  the  argu- 
ment of  Mr.  Conkling.  His  summing-up  to  the  jury  was 
to  the  following  effect:  “Gentlemen  of  the  jury:  In  early 
days  there  lived  in  this  vicinity,  over  on  the  Sangamon 
river,  an  old  Indian  of  the  Kickapoo  tribe  by  the  name  of 
Johnnie  Kongapod.  He  had  been  taken  in  charge  by  some 
good  missionaries,  converted  to  Christianity,  and  educated 
to  such  extent  that  he  could  read  and  write.  He  took  a 
great  fancy  to  poetry  and  became  somewhat  of  a poet 
himself.  His  desire  was  that  after  his  death  there  should 
be  placed  at  the  head  of  his  grave  an  epitaph,  which  he 
prepared  himself,  in  rhyme,  in  the  following  words: 

“‘Here  lies  poor  Johnnie  Kongapod; 

Have  mercy  on  him,  gracious  God, 

As  he  would  do  if  he  were  God 
And  you  were  Johnnie  Kongapod.’” 

Of  course  all  this  had  no  reference  to  the  case,  nor  did 
Lincoln  intend  it  should  have  any.  It  was  merely  his  way 
of  ridiculing  the  eloquence  of  his  opponent.  The  verdict 
of  the  jury  was  for  the  plaintiff,  as  Lincoln  expected 
it  would  be;  and  this  was  the  reason  of  his  treating  the 
case  as  he  did. 

A story  somewhat  similar  to  the  above  was  told  by  the 
late  Judge  John  Pearson  shortly  before  his  death.  In  the 
February  term,  1850,  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Vermilion 
County,  Illinois,  a case  was  being  tried  in  which  a young 
lady  had  brought  suit  for  $10,000  against  a recreant  lover 
wTho  had  married  another  girl.  The  amount  sued  for  was 
thought  to  be  an  enormous  sum  in  those  days,  and  the 
ablest  talent  to  be  found  was  brought  into  requisition  by 
both  sides.  Richard  Thompson  and  Daniel  W.  Voorhees 
were  associated  with  O.  L.  Davis  for  the  fair  plaintiff. 
H.  W.  Beckwith,  Ward  Lamon,  and  Abraham  Lincoln 
were  for  the  defendant.  The  little  town  of  Danville  was 
crowded  with  people  from  far  and  near  who  had  come 


82  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


to  hear  the  big  speeches.  The  evidence  brought  out  in 
the  trial  was  in  every  way  against  the  defendant,  and  the 
sympathy  of  the  public  was,  naturally  enough,  with  the 
young  lady  plaintiff.  Lincoln  and  his  associate  counsel 
plainly  saw  the  hopelessness  of  their  cause;  and  they 
wisely  concluded  to  let  their  side  of  the  case  stand  upon  its 
merits,  without  even  a plea  of  extenuating  circumstances. 
Voorhees  was  young,  ambitious,  and  anxious  to  display  his 
oratory.  He  arranged  with  his  colleagues  at  the  beginning 
that  he  should  make  a speech,  and  he  spent  several  hours 
in  his  room  at  the  hotel  in  the  preparation  of  an  oratorical 
avalanche.  It  became  generally  known  that  Dan  was 
going  to  out-do  himself,  and  the  expectation  of  the  com- 
munity was  at  its  highest  tension.  The  little  old  court- 
house was  crowded.  The  ladies  were  out  in  full  force. 
Voorhees  came  in  a little  late,  glowing  with  the  excitement 
of  the  occasion.  It  had  been  arranged  that  Davis  was  to 
open,  Lincoln  was  to  follow,  and  Voorhees  should  come 
next.  Mr.  Davis  made  a clear  statement  of  the  case, 
recited  the  character  of  the  evidence,  and  closed  with  a 
plain  logical  argument.  Then  Lincoln  arose,  and  stood 
in  silence  for  a moment,  looking  at  the  jury.  He  de- 
liberately re-arranged  some  of  the  books  and  papers  on 
the  table  before  him,  as  though  “making  a good  ready,” 
as  he  used  to  say,  and  began  in  a spirited  but  deliberate 
way:  “Your  Honor,  the  evidence  in  this  case  is  all  in, 
and  doubtless  all  concerned  comprehend  its  fullest  import 
without  the  aid  of  further  argument.  Therefore  we  will 
rest  our  case  here.”  This  move,  of  course,  cut  off  all 
future  discussion.  Voorhees,  with  his  load  of  pyrotechnics 
was  shut  out.  An  ominous  silence  followed  Lincoln’s 
remark;  then  Voorhees  arose,  white  with  rage,  and 
entered  a protest  against  the  tactics  of  the  defense.  All 
the  others  were  disappointed,  but  amused,  and  the  only 
consolation  that  Voorhees  got  out  of  this  affair  was  a 
verdict  for  the  full  amount  claimed  by  his  client.  But  he 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  83 


never  forgave  Lincoln  for  thus  “nipping”  his  great  speech 
“ in  the  bud.” 

Mr.  Wickizer  gives  a story  which  illustrates  the  off-hand 
readiness  of  Lincoln’s  wit.  “In  the  court  at  Bloom- 
ington Mr.  Lincoln  was  engaged  in  a case  of  no  great 
importance;  but  the  attorney  on  the  other  side,  Mr.  S., 
a young  lawyer  of  fine  abilities,  was  always  very  sensitive 
about  being  beaten,  and  in  this  case  he  manifested  unusual 
zeal  and  interest.  The  case  lasted  until  late  at  night, 
when  it  was  finally  submitted  to  the  jury.  Mr.  S.  spent 
a sleepless  night  in  anxiety,  and  early  next  morning  learned, 
to  his  great  chagrin,  that  he  had  lost  the  case.  Mr. 
Lincoln  met  him  at  the  court-house  and  asked  him  what 
had  become  of  his  case.  With  lugubrious  countenance 
and  melancholy  tone,  Mr.  S.  said,  ‘It’s  gone  to  hell!’ 
‘Oh,  well!’  replied  Lincoln,  ‘Never  mind,  — you  can  try 
it  again  there!”’ 

Lincoln  was  always  ready  to  join  in  a laugh  at  his  own 
expense,  and  used  to  tell  the  following  story  with  intense 
enjoyment:  “In  the  days  when  I used  to  be  ‘on  the 
circuit  ’ I was  accosted  in  the  cars  by  a stranger  who  said, 
‘Excuse  me,  sir,  but  I have  an  article  in  my  possession 
which  belongs  to  you.’  ‘How  is  that?’  I asked,  con- 
siderably astonished.  The  stranger  took  a jack-knife 
from  his  pocket.  ‘This  knife,’  said  he,  ‘was  placed  in  my 
hands  some  years  ago  with  the  injunction  that  I was  to 
keep  it  until  I found  a man  uglier  than  myself.  I have 
carried  it  from  that  time  to  this.  Allow  me  to  say,  sir, 
that  I think  you  are  fairly  entitled  to  the  property.’  ” 

Mr.  Gillespie  says  of  Lincoln’s  passion  for  story-telling: 
“As  a boon  companion,  Lincoln,  although  he  never  drank 
liquor  or  used  tobacco  in  any  form,  was  without  a rival. 
No  one  would  ever  think  of  ‘putting  in’  when  he  was 
talking.  He  could  illustrate  any  subject,  it  seemed  to 
me,  with  an  appropriate  and  amusing  anecdote.  He  did 
not  tell  stories  merely  for  the  sake  of  telling  them,  but 


84  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


rather  by  way  of  illustration  of  something  that  had  hap- 
pened or  been  said.  There  seemed  to  be  no  end  to  his 
fund  of  stories.”  Mr.  Lamon  states:  “Lincoln  fre- 
quently said  that  he  lived  by  his  humor  and  would  have 
died  without  it.  His  manner  of  telling  a story  was  irre- 
sistibly comical,  the  fun  of  it  dancing  in  his  eyes  and 
playing  over  every  feature.  His  face  changed  in  an  in- 
stant; the  hard  lines  faded  out  of  it,  and  the  mirth  seemed 
to  diffuse  itself  all  over  him  like  a spontaneous  tickle. 
You  could  see  it  coming  long  before  he  opened  his  mouth, 
and  he  began  to  enjoy  the  ‘point’  before  his  eager  auditors 
could  catch  the  faintest  glimpse  of  it.  Telling  and  hearing 
ridiculous  stories  was  one  of  his  ruling  passions.”  A good 
illustration  of  this  fondness  for  story-telling  is  given  by 
Judge  Sibley,  of  Quincy,  Illinois,  who  knew  Lincoln  when 
practicing  law  at  Springfield.  One  day  a party  of  lawyers 
were  sitting  in  the  law  library  of  the  court-house  at  Spring- 
field,  awaiting  the  opening  of  court,  and  telling  stories  to 
fill  the  time.  Judge  Breese  of  the  Supreme  bench  — one 
of  the  most  distinguished  of  American  jurists,  and  a man 
of  great  personal  dignity  — passed  through  the  room  where 
the  lawyers  were  sitting,  on  his  way  to  open  court.  Lin- 
coln, seeing  him,  called  out  in  his  hearty  way,  “Hold  on, 
Breese!  Don’t  open  court  yet!  Here’s  Bob  Blackwell 
just  going  to  tell  a new  story ! ” The  judge  passed  on  with- 
out replying,  evidently  regarding  it  as  beneath  the  dignity 
of  the  Supreme  Court  to  delay  proceedings  for  the  sake  of 
a story. 


CHAPTER  V 


Lincoln  in  the  Legislature  — Eight  Consecutive  Years  of  Service  — 
His  Influence  in  the  House  — Leader  of  the  Whig  Party  in  Illinois 
— Takes  a Hand  in  National  Politics  — Presidential  Election  in 
1840  — A “Log  Cabin”  Reminiscence  — Some  Memorable  Politi- 
cal Encounters  — A Tilt  with  Douglas  — Lincoln  Facing  a Mob 
— His  Physical  Courage  — Lincoln  as  a Duellist  — The  Affair 
with  General  Shields  — An  Eye-Witness’  Account  of  the  Duel  — 
Courtship  and  Marriage. 

IN  1838  Lincoln  was  for  a third  time  a candidate  for 
the  State  Legislature.  Mr.  Wilson,  one  of  his  col- 
leagues from  Sangamon  County,  states  that  a question  of 
the  division  of  the  county  was  one  of  the  local  issues. 
“Mr.  Lincoln  and  myself,”  says  Mr.  Wilson,  “among 
others  residing  in  the  portion  of  the  county  which  sought 
to  be  organized  into  a new  county,  opposed  the  division; 
and  it  became  necessary  that  I should  make  a special 
canvass  through  the  northwest  part  of  the  county,  then 
known  as  Sand  Ridge.  I made  the  canvass.  Mr.  Lincoln 
accompanied  me,  and  being  personally  acquainted  with 
everyone  we  called  at  nearly  every  house.  At  that  time 
it  was  the  universal  custom  to  keep  some  whiskey  in  the 
house  for  private  use  and  to  treat  friends.  The  subject 
was  always  mentioned  as  a matter  of  politeness,  but  with 
the  usual  remark  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  ‘We  know  you  never 
drink,  but  maybe  your  friend  would  like  to  take  a little.’ 
I never  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  drink.  He  often  told  me  he  never 
drank;  had  no  desire  for  drink,  nor  for  the  companionship 
of  drinking  men.” 

The  result  of  this  canvass  was  that  Lincoln  was  elected 
to  the  Legislature  for  the  session  of  1838-39.  The  next 


86  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


year  he  was  elected  for  the  session  of  1840-41.  This 
ended  his  legislative  service,  which  comprised  eight 
consecutive  years,  from  1834  to  1841.  In  these  later 
sessions  he  was  as  active  and  prominent  in  the  House  as 
he  had  been  in  the  earlier  times  when  a member  from 
New  Salem. 

Lincoln’s  faculty  for  getting  the  better  of  an  adversary 
by  an  apt  illustration  or  anecdote  was  seldom  better  shown 
than  by  an  incident  which  occurred  during  his  last  term  in 
the  Legislature.  Hon.  James  C.  Conkling  has  given  the 
following  graphic  description  of  the  scene:  “A  gentleman 
who  had  formerly  been  Attorney-General  of  the  State  was 
also  a member.  Presuming  upon  his  age,  experience,  and 
former  official  position,  he  thought  it  incumbent  upon 
himself  to  oppose  Lincoln,  who  was  then  one  of  the  ac- 
knowledged leaders  of  his  party.  He  at  length  attracted 
the  attention  of  Lincoln,  who  replied  to  his  remarks, 
telling  one  of  his  humorous  anecdotes  and  making  a per- 
sonal application  to  his  opponent  which  placed  the  latter 
in  such  a ridiculous  attitude  that  it  convulsed  the 
whole  House.  All  business  was  suspended.  In  vain  the 
Speaker  rapped  with  his  gavel.  Members  of  all  parties, 
without  distinction,  were  compelled  to  laugh.  They  not 
only  laughed,  they  screamed  and  yelled;  they  thumped 
upon  the  floor  with  their  canes;  they  clapped  their  hands 
and  threw  up  their  hats;  they  shouted  and  twisted  them- 
selves into  all  sorts  of  contortions,  until  their  sides  ached 
and  the  tears  rolled  down  their  cheeks.  One  paroxysm 
passed  away,  but  was  speedily  succeeded  by  another,  and 
again  they  laughed  and  screamed  and  yelled.  Another 
lull  occurred,  and  still  another  paroxysm,  until  they  seemed 
to  be  perfectly  exhausted.  The  ambition  of  Lincoln’s 
opponent  was  abundantly  gratified,  and  for  the  remainder 
of  the  session  he  lapsed  into  profound  obscurity.” 

In  June,  1842,  ex-President  Van  Buren  was  journeying 
through  Illinois  with  a company  of  friends.  When  near 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  87 


Springfield  they  were  delayed  by  bad  roads,  and  were  com- 
pelled to  spend  the  night  at  Rochester,  some  miles  out. 
The  accommodations  at  this  place  were  very  poor,  and  a 
few  of  the  ex-President’s  Springfield  friends  proposed  to  go 
out  to  meet  him  and  try  to  aid  in  entertaining  him.  Know- 
ing Lincoln’s  ability  as  a talker  and  story-teller,  they 
begged  him  to  go  with  them  and  aid  in  making  their  guest 
at  the  country  inn  pass  the  evening  as  pleasantly  as  possi- 
ble. Lincoln,  with  his  usual  good  nature,  went  with  them, 
and  entertained  the  party  for  hours  with  graphic  descrip- 
tions of  Western  life,  anecdotes  and  witty  stories.  Judge 
Peck,  who  was  of  the  party,  and  a warm  friend  of  the  ex- 
President,  says  that  Lincoln  was  at  his  best.  There  was 
a constant  succession  of  brilliant  anecdotes  and  funny 
stories,  accompanied  by  loud  laughter  in  which  Van  Buren 
took  his  full  share.  “He  also,”  says  the  Judge,  “gave  us 
incidents  and  anecdotes  of  Elisha  Williams,  and  other 
leading  members  of  the  New  York  bar,  going  back  to  the 
days  of  Hamilton  and  Burr.  Altogether  there  was  a right 
merry  time.  Mr.  Van  Buren  said  the  only  drawback  upon 
his  enjoyment  was  that  his  sides  were  sore  from  laughing 
at  Lincoln’s  stories  for  a week  thereafter.” 

Lincoln’s  eight  years  of  legislative  service  had  given  him 
considerable  reputation  in  politics,  and  he  had  become 
the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Whig  party  in  Illinois. 
In  the  exciting  Presidential  campaign  of  1840,  known  as 
the  “Log  Cabin”  campaign,  he  took  a very  active  part. 
He  had  been  nominated  as  Presidential  Elector  on  the 
Harrison  ticket,  and  stumped  a large  portion  of  the  State. 
A peculiarly  interesting  reminiscence  of  Lincoln’s  appear- 
ance on  one  occasion  during  the  “Log  Cabin”  campaign 
is  furnished  by  Mr.  G.  W.  Harris,  who  says:  “In  the  fall 
of  the  year  1840  there  came  into  the  log  school-house  in  a 
village  in  Southern  Illinois  where  I,  a lad,  was  a pupil,  a 
tall,  awkward,  plain-looking  young  man  dressed  in  a full 
suit  of  ‘blue  jean.’  Approaching  the  master,  he  gave  his 


88  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


name,  and,  apologizing  for  the  intrusion,  said,  ‘I  am  told 
you  have  a copy  of  Byron’s  works.  I would  like  to  borrow 
it  for  a few  hours.’  The  book  was  produced  and  loaned  to 
him.  With  his  thanks  and  a ‘Good-day’  to  the  teacher, 
and  a smile  such  as  I have  never  seen  on  any  other  man’s 
face  and  a look  that  took  in  all  of  us  lads  and  lassies,  the 
stranger  passed  out  of  the  room.  This  was  during  a Presi- 
dential canvass.  Isaac  Walker,  candidate  for  Democratic 
Elector,  and  Abraham  Lincoln,  candidate  for  Whig 
Elector,  were  by  appointment  to  discuss  political  matters 
in  the  afternoon  of  that  day.  I asked  for  and  got  a half- 
holiday. I had  given  no  thought  to  the  matter  until  the 
appearance  of  Lincoln  (for  he  it  was)  in  the  school-room. 
But,  something  in  the  man  had  aroused,  not  only  in  me 
but  in  others  of  the  scholars,  a strong  desire  to  see  him 
again  and  to  hear  him  speak.  Isaac  Walker  in  his  younger 
days  had  been  a resident  of  the  village.  Lincoln  was 
aware  of  this,  and  shrewdly  suspected  that  Walker  in  his 
remarks  would  allude  to  the  circumstance;  so,  having  the 
opening  speech,  he  determined  to  ‘ take  the  wind  out  of  his 
sails.’  He  did  so  — how  effectually,  it  is  hardly  necessary 
for  me  to  say.  He  had  borrowed  Byron’s  works  to  read 
the  opening  lines  of  ‘ Lara  ’ : 

“He,  their  unhoped,  but  unforgotten  lord, 

The  long  self-exiled  chieftain,  is  restored. 

There  be  bright  faces  in  the  busy  hall, 

Bowls  on  the  board,  and  banners  on  the  wall; 

“He  comes  at  last  in  sudden  loneliness. 

And  whence  they  know  not,  why  they  need  not  guess; 
They  more  might  marvel,  when  the  greeting’s  o’er, 

Not  that  he  came,  but  came  not  long  before.” 

During  this  period  Lincoln  continued  to  enjoy  the 
hospitality  of  Mr.  Speed  at  Springfield.  “After  he  made 
his  home  with  me,”  says  Mr.  Speed,  “on  every  winter’s 
night  at  my  store,  by  a big  wood  fire,  no  matter  how 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  89 


inclement  the  weather,  eight  or  ten  choice  spirits  as- 
sembled, without  distinction  of  party.  It  was  a sort  of 
social  club  without  organization.  They  came  there  be- 
cause they  were  sure  to  find  Lincoln.  His  habit  was  to 
engage  in  conversation  upon  any  and  all  subjects  except 
politics.  But  one  evening  a political  argument  sprang  up 
between  Lincoln  and  Douglas,  which  for  a time  ran  high. 
Douglas  sprang  to  his  feet  and  said:  ‘Gentlemen,  this  is 
no  place  to  talk  politics;  we  will  discuss  the  questions 
publicly  with  you.”’  A few  days  later  the  Whigs  held  a 
meeting  and  challenged  the  Democrats  to  a joint  debate. 
The  challenge  was  accepted.  Douglas,  Lamborn,  Calhoun, 
and  Jesse  Thomas  were  deputed  by  the  Democrats  to 
meet  Logan,  Baker,  Browning,  and  Lincoln  on  the  part 
of  the  Whigs.  The  intellectual  encounter  between  these 
noted  champions  is  still  described  by  those  who  witnessed 
it  as  “the  great  debate.”  It  took  place  in  the  Second 
Presbyterian  church  at  Springfield,  and  lasted  eight 
nights,  each  speaker  occupying  a night  in  turn.  Mr. 
Speed  speaks  thus  of  Lincoln’s  effort : “Lincoln  delivered  his 
speech  without  manuscript  or  notes.  He  had  a wonderful 
faculty  in  that  way.  He  might  be  writing  an  important 
document,  be  interrupted  in  the  midst  of  a sentence,  turn 
his  attention  to  other  matters  entirely  foreign  to  the 
subject  on  which  he  was  engaged,  and  then  take  up  his 
pen  and  begin  where  he  left  off  without  reading  the 
previous  part  of  the  sentence.  He  could  grasp,  exhaust, 
and  quit  any  subject  with  more  facility  than  any  man  I 
have  ever  seen  or  heard  of.”  The  subjoined  paragraphs 
from  the  speech  above  referred  to  show  the  impassioned 
feeling  which  Lincoln  poured  forth  that  night.  Those 
familiar  with  his  admirable  style  in  his  later  years  would 
scarcely  recognize  him  in  these  florid  and  rather  over- 
weighted periods: 

Many  free  countries  have  lost  their  liberty,  and  ours 
may  lose  hers;  but  if  she  shall,  be  it  my  proudest  plume, 


90  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


not  that  I was  the  last  to  desert,  but  that  I never  deserted 
her.  I know  that  the  great  volcano  at  Washington, 
aroused  and  directed  by  the  evil  spirit  that  reigns  there,  is 
belching  forth  the  lava  of  political  corruption  in  a current 
broad  and  deep,  which  is  sweeping  with  frightful  velocity 
over  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  bidding 
fair  to  leave  unscathed  no  green  spot  or  living  thing; 
while  on  its  bosom  are  riding,  like  demons  on  the  waves  of 
hell,  the  imps  of  the  Evil  Spirit,  and  fiendishly  torturing 
and  taunting  all  those  who  dare  resist  its  destroying  course 
with  the  hopelessness  of  their  effort;  and  knowing  this, 
I cannot  deny  that  all  may  be  swept  away.  Broken  by 
it,  I too  may  be;  bow  to  it,  I never  will.  The  probability 
that  we  may  fall  in  the  struggle  ought  not  to  deter  us  from 
the  support  of  a cause  which  we  deem  to  be  just.  It  shall 
not  deter  me.  If  I ever  feel  the  soul  within  me  elevate 
and  expand  to  those  dimensions  not  wholly  unworthy  of 
its  Almighty  architect,  it  is  when  I contemplate  the  cause 
of  my  country  deserted  by  all  the  world  beside,  and  I, 
standing  up  boldly  and  alone,  hurling  defiance  at  her 
victorious  oppressors.  And  here,  without  contemplating 
consequences,  before  high  Heaven  and  in  the  face  of  the 
whole  world,  I swear  eternal  fidelity  to  the  just  cause,  as 
I deem  it,  of  the  land  of  my  life,  my  liberty,  and  my  love. 
And  who  that  thinks  with  me  will  not  fearlessly  adopt 
the  oath  I take?  Let  none  falter  who  thinks  he  is  right, 
and  we  may  succeed.  But  if,  after  all,  we  shall  fail,  be  it 
so.  We  shall  have  the  proud  consolation  of  saying  to  our 
conscience  and  to  the  departed  shade  of  our  country’s 
freedom,  that  the  cause  approved  by  our  judgments  and 
adored  by  our  hearts  in  disaster,  in  chains,  in  torture,  and 
in  death,  we  never  failed  in  defending. 

In  this  canvass  Lincoln  came  again  into  collision  with 
Douglas,  the  adversary  whom  he  had  met  two  years  before 
and  with  whom  he  was  to  sustain  an  almost  life-long 
political  conflict.  He  also  had  occasion  to  show  his 
courage  and  presence  of  mind  in  rescuing  from  a mob  his 
distinguished  friend,  Col.  E.  D.  Baker,  afterwards  a 
Senator  of  the  United  States.  “Baker  was  speaking  in  a 
large  room,”  says  Mr.  Arnold,  “rented  and  used  for  the 
court  sessions,  and  Lincoln’s  office  was  in  an  apartment 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  91 


over  the  court-room,  communicating  with  it  by  a trap- 
door. Lincoln  was  in  his  office  listening  to  Baker  through 
the  open  trap-door,  when  Baker,  becoming  excited, 
abused  the  Democrats,  many  of  whom  were  present. 
A cry  was  raised,  ‘Pull  him  off  the  stand!’  The  instant 
Lincoln  heard  the  cry,  knowing  a general  fight  was  im- 
minent, his  athletic  form  was  seen  descending  from  above 
through  the  opening  of  the  trap-door,  and,  springing  to 
the  side  of  Baker,  and  waving  his  hand  for  silence,  he  said 
with  dignity : ‘ Gentlemen,  let  us  not  disgrace  the  age  and 
country  in  which  we  live.  This  is  a land  where  freedom 
of  speech  is  guaranteed.  Baker  has  a right  to  speak. 
I am  here  to  protect  him,  and  no  man  shall  take  him  from 
this  stand  if  I can  prevent  it.’  Quiet  was  restored,  and 
Baker  finished  his  speech  without  further  interruption.” 

A similar  occurrence,  happening  about  the  same  period, 
is  detailed  by  General  Linder:  “On  a later  occasion,  when 
Colonel  Baker  and  myself  were  both  battling  together  in 
the  Whig  cause,  at  a convention  held  in  Springfield,  I 
made  a speech  at  the  State  House,  which  I think  now, 
looking  back  at  it  from  this  point,  was  the  very  best  I 
ever  made  in  my  life.  While  I was  addressing  the  vast 
assembly  some  ruffian  in  the  galleries  flung  at  me  a gross 
personal  insult  accompanied  with  a threat.  Lincoln  and 
Colonel  Baker,  who  were  both  present  and  were  warm 
personal  and  political  friends  of  mine,  anticipating  that  I 
might  be  attacked  when  I left  the  State  House,  came  upon 
the  stand  a little  while  before  I concluded  my  speech  and 
took  their  station  on  each  side  of  me.  When  I was 
through,  and  after  my  audience  had  greeted  me  with 
three  hearty  cheers,  each  took  one  of  my  arms,  and 
Lincoln  said  to  me : ‘ Linder,  Baker  and  I are  apprehensive 
that  you  may  be  attacked  by  some  of  those  ruffians  who 
insulted  you  from  the  galleries,  and  we  have  come  up  to 
escort  you  to  your  hotel.  We  both  think  we  can  do  a little 
fighting,  so  we  want  you  to  walk  between  us  until  we  get 


92  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


you  to  your  hotel.  Your  quarrel  is  our  quarrel  and  that 
of  the  great  Whig  party  of  this  nation.  Your  speech  upon 
this  occasion  is  the  greatest  that  has  been  made  by  any 
of  us,  for  which  we  wish  to  honor  and  defend  you.’  This 
I consider  no  ordinary  compliment,  coming  from  Lincoln, 
for  he  was  no  flatterer  nor  disposed  to  bestow  praise  where 
it  was  undeserved.  Colonel  Baker  heartily  concurred 
in  all  he  said,  and  between  those  two  glorious  men  I left 
the  stand  and  we  marched  out  of  the  State  House  through 
our  friends,  who  trooped  after  us  evidently  anticipating 
what  Lincoln  and  Baker  had  suggested  to  me,  accompany- 
ing us  to  my  hotel.” 

That  Lincoln  had  an  abundance  of  physical  courage, 
and  was  well  able  to  defend  himself  when  necessity  de- 
manded, is  clear  from  the  incidents  just  given.  Mr. 
Herndon,  his  intimate  friend,  adds  his  testimony  on  this 
point.  As  Lincoln  was  grand  in  his  good  nature,  says  Mr. 
Herndon,  so  he  was  grand  in  his  rage.  “Once  I saw  him 
incensed  at  a judge  for  giving  an  unfair  decision.  It  was 
a terrible  spectacle.  At  another  time  I saw  two  men 
come  to  blows  in  his  presence.  He  picked  them  up 
separately  and  tossed  them  apart  like  a couple  of  kittens. 
He  was  the  strongest  man  I ever  knew,  and  has  been 
known  to  lift  a man  of  his  own  weight  and  throw  him  over 
a worm  fence.  Once  in  Springfield  the  Irish  voters  medi- 
tated taking  possession  of  the  polls.  News  came  down 
the  street  that  they  would  permit  nobody  to  vote  but 
those  of  their  own  party.  Mr.  Lincoln  seized  an  axe- 
handle  from  a hardware  store  and  went  alone  to  open  a 
way  to  the  ballot-box.  His  appearance  intimidated  them, 
and  we  had  neither  threats  nor  collisions  all  that  day.” 

An  unsuspected  side  of  Lincoln’s  character  was  shown, 
at  this  period  of  his  life,  in  the  affair  with  General  Shields. 
With  all  his  gentleness  and  his  scrupulous  regard  for  the 
rights  of  others,  Lincoln  was  not  one  to  submit  to  being 
bullied;  while  his  physical  courage  had  been  proved  in 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  93 


many  a rough-and-tumble  encounter,  often  against  heavy 
odds,  with  the  rude  and  boisterous  spirits  of  his  time. 
These  encounters  were  usually  with  nature’s  weapons; 
but  in  the  Shields  affair  — duel,  it  was  sometimes  called  — 
he  showed  that  he  would  not  shrink  from  the  use  of  more 
deadly  weapons  if  forced  to  do  so.  In  judging  this  phase 
of  his  character,  account  must  be  taken  of  his  Kentucky 
birth  and  origin,  and  of  the  customs  and  standards  of  his 
time.  James  Shields  (afterwards  a distinguished  Union 
General  and  U.  S.  Senator)  wras  at  this  time  (1842)  living 
at  Springfield,  holding  the  office  of  State  Auditor.  He  is 
described  as  “a  gallant,  hot-headed  bachelor,  from  Tyrone 
County,  Ireland.”  He  was  something  of  a beau  in  society, 
and  was  the  subject  of  some  satirical  articles  which,  in  a 
spirit  of  fun,  Miss  Mary  Todd  (afterwards  Mrs.  Lincoln) 
had  written  and  published  in  a local  journal.  Shields  was 
furious,  and,  demanding  the  name  of  the  writer,  Lincoln 
sent  him  word  that  he  would  assume  full  responsibility 
in  the  matter.  A challenge  to  a duel  followed,  which 
Lincoln  accepted  and  named  broadswords  as  the  ■weapons. 
General  Linder  states  that  Lincoln  said  to  him  that  he  did 
not  want  to  kill  Shields,  and  felt  sure  he  could  disarm 
him  if  they  fought  wTith  broadswords,  while  he  felt  sure 
Shields  would  kill  him  if  pistols  wore  the  weapons.  It 
seems  that  Lincoln  actually  took  lessons  in  broadsword 
exercise  from  a Major  Duncan;  and  at  the  appointed 
time  all  parties  proceeded  to  the  chosen  field,  near  Alton. 
But  friends  appeared  on  the  scene  while  the  preliminaries 
wore  being  arranged,  and  succeeded  in  effecting  a recon- 
ciliation. Major  Lucas,  of  Springfield,  who  was  on  the 
field,  stated  that  he  “had  no  doubt  Lincoln  meant  to 
fight.  Lincoln  wTas  no  coward,  and  he  would  unquestion- 
ably have  held  his  own  against  his  antagonist,  for  he  was 
a powerful  man  and  well  skilled  in  the  use  of  the  broad- 
sword. Lincoln  said  to  me,  after  the  affair  was  all  over, 
‘I  could  have  split  him  in  two.’”  But  there  can  be  little 


94  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


doubt  that  he  was  well  pleased  that  the  affair  proved  a 
bloodless  one. 

The  mention  of  Miss  Mary  Todd,  in  the  preceding 
paragraph,  brings  us  to  Lincoln’s  marriage  with  that 
lady,  which  occurred  in  1842,  he  being  then  in  his  thirty- 
fourth  year.  Miss  Todd  was  the  daughter  of  the  Hon. 
Robert  T.  Todd,  of  Lexington,  Kentucky.  She  came  to 
Springfield  in  1839,  to  live  with  her  sister,  Mrs.  Ninian  W. 
Edwards.  “She  was  young,”  says  Mr.  Lamon,  “just 
twenty-one,  — her  family  was  of  the  best  and  her  con- 
nections in  Illinois  among  the  most  refined  and  distin- 
guished people.  Her  mother  having  died  when  she  was  a 
little  girl,  she  had  been  educated  under  the  care  of  a French 
lady.  She  was  gifted  with  rare  talehts,  had  a keen  sense 
of  the  ridiculous,  a ready  insight  into  the  weaknesses  of 
individual  character,  and  a most  fiery  and  ungovernable 
temper.  Her  tongue  and  her  pen  were  equally  sharp. 
Highbred,  proud,  brilliant,  witty,  and  with  a will  that 
bent  every  one  else  to  her  purpose,  she  took  Lincoln 
captive.  He  was  a rising  politician,  fresh  from  the  people, 
and  possessed  of  great  power  among  them.  Miss  Todd 
was  of  aristocratic  and  distinguished  family,  able  to  lead 
through  the  awful  portals  of  ‘good  society’  whomsoever 
they  chose  to  countenance.  It  was  thought  that  a union 
between  them  could  not  fail  of  numerous  benefits  to  both 
parties.  Mr.  Edwards  thought  so;  Mrs.  Edwards  thought 
so ; and  it  was  not  long  before  Mary  Todd  herself  thought 
so.  She  was  very  ambitious,  and  even  before  she  left 
Kentucky  announced  her  belief  that  she  was  destined  to 
be  the  wife  of  some  future  President.  For  a while  she  was 
courted  by  Douglas  as  well  as  by  Lincoln.  Being  asked 
which  of  them  she  intended  to  have,  she  answered,  ‘The 
one  that  has  the  best  chance  of  being  President.’  She 
decided  in  favor  of  Lincoln;  and  in  the  opinion  of  some 
of  her  husband’s  friends  she  aided  to  no  small  extent  in 
the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  which  the  bestowal  of  her 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  95 


hand  implied.”  Mrs.  Edwards,  Miss  Todd’s  sister,  has 
related  that  “Lincoln  was  charmed  with  Mary’s  wit  and 
fascinated  with  her  quick  sagacity,  her  will,  her  nature 
and  culture.  I have  happened  in  the  room,”  she  says, 
“where  they  were  sitting,  often  and  often,  and  Mary  led 
the  conversation.  Lincoln  would  listen,  and  gaze  on  her 
as  if  drawn  by  some  superior  power  — irresistibly  so. 
He  listened,  but  seldom  said  a word.” 

Preparations  were  made  for  the  marriage  between 
Lincoln  and  Miss  Todd.  But  they  were  interrupted  by 
a painful  occurrence  — a sudden  breaking  out  of  a fit  of 
melancholy,  or  temporary  insanity,  such  as  had  afflicted 
Lincoln  on  a former  occasion.  This  event  has  been  made 
the  subject  of  no  little  gossip,  into  which  it  is  not  now 
necessary  or  desirable  to  go,  further  than  to  mention  that 
at  about  this  time  Lincoln  seems  to  have  formed  a strong 
attachment  for  Miss  Matilda  Edwards,  a sister  of  Ninian 
W.  Edwards;  and  that  the  engagement  with  Miss  Todd 
was  for  a time  broken  off.  In  consequence  of  these  com- 
plications, Lincoln’s  health  was  seriously  affected.  He 
suffered  from  melancholy,  which  was  so  profound  that 
“his  friends  were  alarmed  for  his  life.”  His  intimate  com- 
panion, Mr.  Speed,  endeavored  to  rescue  him  from  the 
terrible  depression,  urging  that  he  would  die  unless  he 
rallied.  Lincoln  replied,  .“I  am  not  afraid  to  die,  and 
would  be  more  than  willing.  But  I have  an  irrepressible 
desire  to  live  till  I can  be  assured  that  the  world  is  a little 
better  for  my  having  been  in  it.” 

Mr.  Herndon  gives  as  his  opinion  that  Lincoln’s  insanity 
grew  out  of  a most  extraordinary  complication  of  feelings 
— aversion  to  the  marriage  proposed,  a counter-attach- 
ment to  Miss  Edwards,  and  a revival  of  his  tenderness  for 
the  memory  of  Anne  Rutledge.  At  all  events,  his  derange- 
ment was  nearly  if  not  quite  complete.  “We  had  to 
remove  razors  from  his  room,”  says  Mr.  Speed,  “take 
away  all  knives,  and  other  dangerous  things.  It  was 


96  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


terrible.”  Mr.  Speed  determined  to  do  for  him  what 
Bowlin  Greene  had  done  on  a similar  occasion  at  New 
Salem.  Having  sold  out  his  store  on  the  first  of  January, 

1841,  he  took  Lincoln  with  him  to  his  home  in  Kentucky 
and  kept  him  there  during  most  of  the  summer  and  fall, 
or  until  he  seemed  sufficiently  restored  to  be  given  his 
liberty  again,  when  he  was  brought  back  to  Springfield. 
His  health  was  soon  regained,  and  on  the  4th  of  November, 

1842,  the  marriage  between  him  and  Miss  Todd  was 
celebrated  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 
After  the  marriage  Lincoln  secured  pleasant  rooms 
for  himself  and  wife  at  the  Globe  Tavern,  at  a cost  of  four 
dollars  a week.  In  1844  he  purchased  of  the  Rev.  Nathan 
Dressar  the  plain  dwelling  which  was  his  home  for  the 
ensuing  seventeen  years,  and  which  he  left  in  1861  to 
enter  the  White  House. 


CHAPTER  VI 


Lincoln  in  National  Politics  — His  Congressional  Aspirations  — Law- 
Partnership  of  Lincoln  and  Herndon — The  Presidential  Campaign 
of  1844  — Visit  to  Henry  Clay  — Lincoln  Elected  to  Congress  — 
Congressional  Reputation  — Acquaintance  with  Distinguished 
Men  — First  Speech  in  Congress  — “Getting  the  Hang”  of  the 
House  — Lincoln’s  Course  on  the  Mexican  War  — Notable  Speech 
in  Congress  — Ridicule  of  General  Cass  — Bill  for  the  Abolition 
of  Slavery  — Delegate  to  the  Whig  National  Convention  of  1848  — 
Stumping  the  Country  for  Taylor  — Advice  to  Young  Politicians 
— “ Old  Abe  ” — A Political  Disappointment  — Lincoln’s  Appear- 
ance as  an  Office  Seeker  in  Washington  — “A  Divinity  that  Shapes 
our  Ends.” 

IN  the  spring  of  1843  Lincoln  was  among  the  nominees 
proposed  to  represent  the  Sangamon  district  in 
Congress;  but  Col.  Edward  D.  Baker  carried  the  delega- 
tion, and  was  elected.  In  writing  to  his  friend  Speed, 
Lincoln  treated  the  circumstance  with  his  usual  humor. 
“We  had,”  he  says,  “a  meeting  of  the  Whigs  of  the  county 
here  last  Monday  to  appoint  delegates  to  a district  con- 
vention. Baker  beat  me,  and  got  the  delegation  instructed 
to  go  for  him.  The  meeting,  in  spite  of  my  attempt  to 
decline  it,  appointed  me  one  of  the  delegates;  so  that  in 
getting  Baker  the  nomination  I shall  be  ‘fixed’  a good 
deal  like  a fellow  who  is  made  groomsman  to  the  man 
who  ‘cut  him  out’  and  is  marrying  his  own  girl.” 

On  the  20th  of  September,  1843,  the  partnership  between 
Lincoln  and  Judge  Logan  was  dissolved;  and  the  same 
day  a new  association  was  formed  with  William  H. 
Herndon,  a relative  of  one  of  Lincoln’s  former  friends  of 
Clary  Grove.  It  is  said  that  in  spite  of  their  close  friend- 
ship Mr.  Herndon  could  not  understand  it  when  Lincoln 
one  day  plunged  up  the  office  stairs  and  said,  “Herndon, 
should  you  like  to  be  my  partner?”  “Don’t  laugh  at  me, 


98  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Mr.  Lincoln,”  was  the  response.  Persistent  repetition  of 
the  question  could  hardly  gain  a hearing;  but  at  last  Mr. 
Herndon  said:  “Mr.  Lincoln,  you  know  I am  too  young, 
and  I have  no  standing  and  no  money;  but  if  you  are  in 
earnest,  there  is  nothing  in  this  world  that  would  make 
me  so  happy.”  Nothing  more  was  said  till  the  papers 
were  brought  to  Herndon  to  sign.  The  partnership  of 
“Lincoln  & Herndon”  was  a happy  one,  and  continued 
until  Lincoln  became  President,  a period  of  nearly  eighteen 
years. 

The  life  of  Henry  Clay,  which  Lincoln  read  in  his  boy- 
hood, had  filled  him  with  enthusiasm  for  the  great  Whig 
leader;  and  when  the  latter  was  nominated  for  the 
Presidency,  in  1844,  there  was  no  more  earnest  adherent 
of  his  cause  than  the  “Sangamon  Chief,”  as  Lincoln  was 
now  called.  Lincoln  canvassed  Illinois  and  a part  of 
Indiana  during  the  campaign,  meeting  the  chief  Demo- 
cratic speakers,  and  especially  Douglas,  in  debate.  Lin- 
coln had  not  at  this  time  heard  the  “ silvery-tongued 
orator”  of  Kentucky;  but  two  years  later  the  opportunity 
was  afforded  and  eagerly  embraced.  It  is  possible,  as 
Dr.  Holland  remarks,  that  he  “needed  the  influence  of 
this  visit  to  restore  a healthy  tone  to  his  feelings,  and  to 
teach  him  that  the  person  whom  his  imagination  had 
transformed  into  a demigod  was  only  a man,  possessing 
the  full  measure  of  weaknesses  common  to  men.  In  1846 
Lincoln  learned  that  Clay  was  to  deliver  a speech  at 
Lexington,  Kentucky,  in  favor  of  gradual  emancipation. 
This  event  seemed  to  give  him  an  excuse  for  breaking  away 
from  his  business  and  satisfying  his  desire  to  look  his 
demigod  in  the  face  and  hear  the  music  of  his  eloquence. 
He  accordingly  went  to  Lexington,  and  arrived  there  in 
time  to  attend  the  meeting.  On  returning  to  his  home 
from  this  visit  he  did  not  attempt  to  disguise  his  disap- 
pointment. Clay’s  speech  was  written  and  read;  it 
lacked  entirely  the  fire  and  eloquence  which  Lincoln  had 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  99 


anticipated.  At  the  close  of  the  meeting  Lincoln  secured 
an  introduction  to  the  great  orator  and  as  Clay  knew  what 
a friend  Lincoln  had  been  to  him,  he  invited  his  admirer 
and  partisan  to  Ashland.  No  invitation  could  have 
delighted  Lincoln  more.  But  the  result  of  his  private 
intercourse  with  Clay  was  no  more  satisfactory  than  that 
which  followed  the  speech.  Those  who  have  known 
both  men  will  not  wonder  at  this;  for  two  men  could  hardly 
be  more  unlike  in  their  motives  and  manners  than  the 
two  thus  brought  together.  One  was  a proud  man;  the 
other  was  a humble  man.  One  was  princely  in  his  bear- 
ing; the  other  was  lowdy.  One  was  distant  and  dignified; 
the  other  was  as  simple  and  approachable  as  a child. 
One  received  the  deference  of  men  as  his  due;  the  other 
received  it  with  an  uncomfortable  sense  of  his  unworthi- 
ness. A friend  of  Lincoln,  who  had  a long  conversation 
with  him  after  his  return  from  Ashland,  found  that  his  old 
enthusiasm  was  gone.  Lincoln  said  that  though  Clay 
was  polished  in  his  manners,  and  very  hospitable,  he 
betrayed  a consciousness  of  superiority  that  none  could 
mistake.” 

For  two  years  after  the  Presidential  contest  between 
Clay  and  Polk,  Lincoln  devoted  himself  assiduously  to 
his  law  practice.  But  in  1846  he  was  again  active  in 
politics,  this  time  striving  for  a seat  in  the  National 
Congress.  His  chief  opponent  among  the  Whig  candi- 
dates was  his  old  friend  John  J.  Hardin,  who  soon  with- 
drew from  the  contest,  leaving  Mr.  Lincoln  alone  in  the 
field.  The  candidate  on  the  Democratic  ticket  was  Peter 
Cartwright,  the  famous  Methodist  preacher.  It  was 
supposed  from  his  great  popularity  as  a pulpit  orator  that 
Mr.  Cartwright  would  run  far  ahead  of  his  ticket.  Instead 
of  this,  Lincoln  received  a majority  of  1,511  in  his  district, 
which  in  1844  had  given  Clay  a majority  of  only  914  and 
in  1848  had  allowed  the  Whig  candidate  for  Congress  to 
be  defeated  by  106  votes. 


100  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Lincoln  took  his  seat  in  the  Thirtieth  Congress  in 
December,  1847,  the  only  Whig  member  from  Illinois. 
Among  the  notable  members  of  this  Congress  were  ex- 
president  John  Quincy  Adams;  Andrew  Johnson,  elected 
Vice-President  with  Lincoln  on  his  second  election;  A.  H. 
Stephens,  afterwards  Vice-President  of  the  Confederacy; 
Toombs,  Rhett,  Cobb,  and  others  who  afterwards  became 
leaders  of  the  Rebellion.  In  the  Senate  were  Daniel 
Webster,  Simon  Cameron,  Lewis  Cass,  Mason,  Hunter, 
John  C.  Calhoun,  and  Jefferson  Davis. 

Lincoln  entered  Congress  as  the  Illinois  leader  of  the 
Whig  party.  He  was  reputed  to  be  an  able  and  effective 
speaker.  In  speaking  of  the  impression  he  made  upon  his 
associates,  the  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop  says:  “I  recall 
vividly  the  impressions  I then  formed  both  of  his  ability 
and  amiability.  We  were  old  Whigs  together,  and  agreed 
entirely  upon  all  questions  of  public  interest.  I could  not 
always  concur  in  the  policy  of  the  party  which  made  him 
President,  but  I never  lost  my  personal  regard  for  him. 
For  shrewdness,  sagacity,  and  keen  practical  sense,  he  has 
had  no  superior  in  our  day  or  generation.” 

Alexander  H.  Stephens,  writing  seventeen  years  after 
Lincoln’s  death,  recalled  their  service  together  in 
Congress.  “I  knew  Mr.  Lincoln  well  and  intimately,” 
said  Mr.  Stephens.  “We  both  were  ardent  supporters  of 
General  Taylor  for  President  in  1848.  Lincoln,  Toombs, 
Preston,  myself,  and  others,  formed  the  first  Congressional 
Taylor  Club,  known  as  ‘The  Young  Indians,’  and  or- 
ganized the  Taylor  movement  which  resulted  in  his  nomi- 
nation. Mr.  Lincoln  was  careless  as  to  his  manners  and 
awkward  in  his  speech,  but  possessed  a strong,  clear, 
vigorous  mind.  He  always  attracted  and  riveted  the 
attention  of  the  House  when  he  spoke.  His  manner  of 
speech  as  well  as  of  thought  was  original.  He  had  no 
model.  He  was  a man  of  strong  convictions,  and  what 
Carlyle  would  have  called  an  earnest  man.  He  abounded 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  101 


in  anecdote.  He  illustrated  everything  he  was  talking 
about  by  an  anecdote,  always  exceedingly  apt  and  pointed; 
and  socially  he  always  kept  his  company  in  a roar  of 
laughter.” 

Alluding  to  his  first  speech  in  Congress  — on  some 
post-office  question  of  no  special  interest  — Lincoln  wrote 
to  his  friend  Herndon  that  his  principal  object  was  to  “get 
the  hang  of  the  House”;  adding  that  he  “found  speaking 
here  and  elsewhere  about  the  same  thing.  I was  about  as 
badly  scared  as  when  I spoke  in  court,  but  no  more  so.” 

Lincoln’s  mental  power,  as  well  as  his  self-confidence, 
developed  rapidly  under  the  responsibilities  of  his  new 
position.  During  his  term  of  service  in  the  House  he  was 
zealous  in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  alert  to  seize  every 
opportunity  to  strike  a blow  for  his  party  and  acquit 
himself  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  constituents.  In  January, 
1848,  he  made  a telling  speech  in  support  of  the  “Spot 
Resolutions,”  in  which  his  antagonism  to  the  course  of  the 
Administration  in  regard  to  the  war  on  Mexico  was  un- 
compromisingly announced.  These  resolutions  were 
offered  for  the  purpose  of  getting  from  President  Polk  a 
statement  of  facts  regarding  the  beginning  of  the  war. 
In  this  speech  Lincoln  warned  the  President  not  to  try 
to  “escape  scrutiny  by  fixing  the  public  gaze  upon  the 
exceeding  brightness  of  military  glory  — that  attractive 
rainbow  that  rises  in  showers  of  blood,  that  serpent’s  eye 
that  charms  but  to  destroy.”  In  writing,  a few  days 
after  the  delivery  of  this  speech,  to  Mr.  Herndon,  Lincoln 
said:  “I  will  stake  my  life  that  if  you  had  been  in  my 
place  you  -would  have  voted  just  as  I did.  Would  you 
have  voted  what  you  felt  and  knew  to  be  a lie?  I know 
you  would  not.  Would  you  have  gone  out  of  the  House 
— skulked  the  vote?  I expect  not.  If  you  had  skulked 
one  vote  you  would  have  had  to  skulk  many  more  before 
the  end  of  the  session.  Richardson’s  resolutions,  in- 
troduced before  I made  any  move  or  gave  any  vote  upon 


102  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


the  subject,  make  a direct  question  of  the  justice  of  the 
war;  so  no  man  can  be  silent  if  he  would.  You  are  com- 
pelled to  speak;  and  your  only  alternative  is  to  tell  the 
truth  or  tell  a lie.  I cannot  doubt  which  you  would  do.” 

Lincoln’s  position  on  the  Mexican  War  has  been  gen- 
erally approved  by  the  moral  sense  of  the  country;  but  it 
gave  his  political  enemies  an  opportunity,  which  they  were 
not  slow  to  improve,  for  trying  to  make  political  capital 
out  of  it  and  using  it  to  create  a prejudice  against  him. 
Douglas  in  particular  never  missed  an  opportunity  of  refer- 
ring to  it.  In  the  great  joint  debate  in  1858  he  spoke 
of  Lincoln’s  having  “distinguished  himself  in  Congress  by 
his  opposition  to  the  Mexican  War,  taking  the  side  of  the 
common  enemy  against  his  own  country.”  No  better 
refutation  of  these  oft-repeated  charges  could  be  made 
than  that  given  by  Lincoln  himself  on  this  occasion. 
“The  Judge  charges  me,”  he  said,  “with  having,  while  in 
Congress,  opposed  our  soldiers  who  were  fighting  in  the 
Mexican  War.  I will  tell  you  what  he  can  prove  by  re- 
ferring to  the  record.  You  remember  I was  an  old  Whig; 
and  whenever  the  Democratic  party  tried  to  get  me  to 
vote  that  the  war  had  been  righteously  begun  by  the  Presi- 
dent, I would  not  do  it.  But  whenever  they  asked  for 
any  money  or  land-warrants,  or  anything  to  pay  the 
soldiers,  I gave  the  same  vote  that  Judge  Douglas  did. 
Such  is  the  truth,  and  the  Judge  has  a right  to  make  all 
he  can  out  of  it.” 

The  most  ambitious  utterance  of  Lincoln  during 
this  term  in  Congress  was  that  of  July  27,  1848,  when  he 
took  for  his  subject  the  very  comprehensive  one  of  “The 
Presidency  and  General  Politics.”  It  was  a piece  of 
sound  and  forcible  argumentation,  relieved  by  strong 
and  effective  imagery  and  quiet  humor.  A considerable 
portion  of  it  was  occupied  with  an  exposure  of  the  weak- 
nesses of  General  Cass,  the  Presidential  candidate  opposed 
to  General  Taylor.  Lincoln  ridiculed  Cass  with  all  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  103 


wit  at  his  command.  An  extract  from  this  speech  has 
already  been  quoted  in  this  work,  in  the  account  of  Lincoln 
in  the  Black  Hawk  War.  Another  passage,  equally  telling, 
relates  to  the  vacillating  action  of  General  Cass  on  the 
Wilmot  Proviso.  After  citing  a number  of  facts  in  refer- 
ence to  the  case,  Lincoln  says:  “These  extracts  show  that 
in  1846  General  Cass  was  for  the  Proviso  at  once;  that  in 
March,  1847,  he  was  still  for  it,  but  not  just  then;  and  that 
in  December,  1847,  he  was  against  it  altogether.  This  is 
a true  index  to  the  whole  man.  When  the  question  was 
raised,  in  1846,  he  was  in  a blustering  hurry  to  take  ground 
for  it.  He  sought  to  be  in  advance,  and  to  avoid  the 
uninteresting  position  of  a mere  follower.  But  soon  he 
began  to  see  glimpses  of  the  great  Democratic  ox-gad 
waving  in  his  face,  and  to  hear  indistinctly  a voice  saying, 
‘Back!  Back,  sir!  Back  a little!’  He  shakes  his  head 
and  bats  his  eyes  and  blunders  back  to  his  position  of 
March,  1847.  But  still  the  gad  waves,  and  the  voice 
grows  more  distinct  and  sharper  still,  ‘Back,  sir!  Back, 
Isay!  Further  back!’  And  back  he  goes  to  the  position 
of  December,  1847,  at  which  the  gad  is  still  and  the  voice 
soothingly  says,  ‘So!  Stand  still  at  that!”’ 

Again,  after  extended  comment  on  the  extra  charges  of 
General  Cass  upon  the  Treasury  for  military  services,  he 
continued  in  a still  more  sarcastic  vein:  “But  I have 
introduced  General  Cass’s  accounts  here  chiefly  to  show 
the  wonderful  physical  capacities  of  the  man.  They 
show  that  he  not  only  did  the  labor  of  several  men  at  the 
same  time,  but  that  he  often  did  it  at  several  places  many 
hundred  miles  apart  at  the  same  time.  And  at  eating, 
too,  his  capacities  are  shown  to  be  quite  as  wonderful. 
From  October,  1821,  to  May,  1822,  he  ate  ten  rations  a 
day  in  Michigan,  ten  rations  a day  here  in  Washington, 
and  near  five  dollars’  worth  a day  besides,  partly  on  the 
road  between  the  two  places.  And  then  there  is  an 
important  discovery  in  his  example  — the  art  of  being 


104)  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


paid  for  what  one  eats,  instead  of  having  to  pay  .for  it. 
Hereafter  if  any  nice  young  man  shall  owe  a bill  which  he 
cannot  pay  in  any  other  way  he  can  just  board  it  out. 
Mr.  Speaker,  we  have  all  heard  of  the  animal  standing  in 
doubt  between  two  stacks  of  hay  and  starving  to  death. 
The  like  of  that  would  never  happen  to  General  Cass. 
Place  the  stacks  a thousand  miles  apart,  he  would  stand 
stock-still  midway  between  them  and  eat  them  both  at 
once;  and  the  green  grass  along  the  line  would  be  apt  to 
suffer  some,  too,  at  the  same  time.  By  all  means  make 
him  President,  gentlemen.  He  will  feed  you  bounteously 
— if  — if  — there  is  any  left  after  he  shall  have  helped 
himself.” 

Lincoln’s  most  important  act  in  the  Congress  of  1848-9 
was  the  introduction  of  a bill  for  the  gradual  abolition  of 
slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  But  the  state  of 
feeling  on  the  subject  of  emancipation  was  so  feverish  at 
the  time  that  the  bill  could  not  even  be  got  before  the 
House. 

The  Whig  National  Convention  met  at  Philadelphia 
the  first  of  June,  to  nominate  a candidate  for  the  Presi- 
dency. Lincoln  attended  the  Convention  as  a delegate 
from  Illinois.  During  the  campaign  of  1848  he  labored 
earnestly  for  the  election  of  General  Taylor.  This 
campaign  made  him  known  more  generally  throughout 
the  country,  as  he  spoke  in  New  York  and  New  England 
as  well  as  in  Illinois  and  the  West. 

While  in  Washington,  Lincoln  kept  up  a free  correspon- 
dence with  his  friend  and  law-partner  Herndon,  which 
affords  many  interesting  glimpses  of  his  thoughts  and 
views.  In  one  of  these  letters,  endeavoring  to  incite 
Herndon  to  political  ambition,  he  wrote:  “Nothing  could 
afford  me  more  satisfaction  than  to  learn  that  you  and 
others  of  my  young  friends  at  home  were  doing  battle  in 
the  contest,  endearing  themselves  to  the  people  and 
taking  a stand  far  above  any  I have  ever  been  able  to 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  105 


reach  in  their  admiration.  I cannot  conceive  that  other 
old  men  feel  differently.  Of  course,  I cannot  demonstrate 
what  I say;  but  I was  young  once,  and  I am  sure  I was 
never  ungenerously  thrust  back.  The  way  for  a young 
man  to  rise  is  to  improve  himself  in  every  way  he  can, 
never  suspecting  that  anybody  wishes  to  hinder  him. 
Allow  me  to  assure  you  that  suspicion  and  jealousy  never 
did  help  any  man  in  any  situation.  There  may  sometimes 
be  ungenerous  attempts  to  keep  a young  man  down; 
and  they  will  succeed,  too,  if  he  allows  his  mind  to  be 
diverted  from  its  true  channel,  to  brood  over  the  attempted 
injury.  Cast  about  and  see  if  this  feeling  has  not  injured 
every  person  you  have  ever  known  to  fall  into  it.  Now, 
in  what  I have  said  I am  sure  you  will  suspect  nothing 
but  sincere  friendship.  I would  save  you  from  a fatal 
error.  You  have  been  a laborious,  studious  young  man. 
You  are  far  better  informed  on  almost  all  subjects  than  I 
have  ever  been.  You  cannot  fail  in  any  laudable  object 
unless  you  allow  your  mind  to  be  improperly  directed. 
I have  some  the  advantage  of  you  in  the  world’s  experi- 
ence, merely  by  being  older;  and  it  is  this  that  induces 
me  to  offer  you  this  advice.” 

It  will  be  observed  that,  in  this  letter  Lincoln  speaks  of 
himself  as  an  “old  man.”  This  had  been  a habit  with 
him  for  years;  and  yet  at  this  date  he  was  under  thirty- 
nine.  He  was  already  beginning  to  be  known  as  “Old 
Abe.”  Hon.  E.  B.  Washburne  states  that  he  remembers 
hearing  him  thus  called,  in  Chicago,  in  July,  1847.  “One 
afternoon,”  says  Mr.  Washburne,  “several  of  us  sat  on  the 
sidewalk  under  the  balcony  in  front  of  the  Sherman  House, 
and  among  the  number  was  the  accomplished  scholar  and 
unrivalled  orator,  Lisle  Smith,  who  suddenly  interrupted 
the  conversation  by  exclaiming,  ‘There  is  Lincoln  on  the 
other  side  of  the  street ! J ust  look  at  old  Abe  ! ’ And  from 
that  time  we  all  called  him  ‘Old  Abe.’  No  one  who  saw 
him  can  forget  his  personal  appearance  at  that  time. 


106  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Tall,  angular,  and  awkward,  he  had  on  a short-waisted, 
thin,  swallow-tail  coat,  a short  vest  of  the  same  material, 
thin  pantaloons  scarcely  coming  down  to  his  ankles,  a 
straw  hat,  and  a pair  of  brogans,  with  woollen  socks.” 

During  the  summer  following  the  expiration  of 
Lincoln’s  term  in  Congress  (March  4,  1849)  he  made  a 
strong  effort  to  secure  the  position  of  Commissioner  of 
the  General  Land  Office,  but  without  success.  The  place 
was  given  to  Justin  Butterfield  of  Chicago.  It  was  a 
severe  disappointment  to  Lincoln.  Major  Wilcox,  who 
at  the  period  referred  to  lived  in  McDonough  County, 
Illinois,  and  in  early  days  was  a Whig  politician,  visited 
Washington  to  aid  Lincoln  in  seeking  this  appointment, 
and  has  furnished  a graphic  account  of  the  circum- 
stances and  of  Lincoln’s  appearance  at  the  national 
capital  in  the  novel  capacity  of  an  office-seeker.  Major 
Wilcox  says  that  in  June,  1849,  he  went  to  Washington 
and  had  an  interview  with  the  newly-inaugurated  Presi- 
dent, General  Taylor,  regarding  Lincoln’s  appointment 
to  the  desired  office.  The  interview  was  but  partially 
satisfactory,  the  President  remarking  that  he  was  favor- 
able to  Lincoln,  but  that  Mr.  Butterfield  was  very  strongly 
urged  for  the  place  and  the  chances  of  appointment  were 
in  his  favor.  Lincoln  had  arranged  to  be  in  Washing- 
ton at  a time  specified,  after  Major  Wilcox  should  have 
had  opportunity  to  look  the  ground  over.  Major  Wil- 
cox says  that  he  went  to  the  railroad  depot  to  meet 
Lincoln  at  the  train.  It  was  in  the  afternoon,  towards 
night.  The  day  had  been  quite  warm,  and  the  road  was 
dry  and  dusty.  He  found  Lincoln  just  emerging  from  the 
depot.  He  had  on  a thin  suit  of  summer  clothes,  his  coat 
being  a linen  duster,  much  soiled.  His  whole  appearance 
was  decidedly  shabby.  He  carried  in  his  hand  an  old- 
fashioned  carpet-sack,  which  added  to  the  oddity  of  his 
appearance.  Major  Wilcox  says  if  it  had  been  anybody 
else  he  would  have  been  rather  shy  of  being  seen  in  his 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  107 


company,  because  of  the  awkward  and  unseemly  appear- 
ance he  presented.  Lincoln  immediately  began  to  talk 
about  his  chances  for  the  appointment;  whereupon  Major 
Wilcox  related  to  him  everything  that  had  transpired, 
and  what  President  Taylor  had  said  to  him.  They 
proceeded  at  once  to  Major  Wilcox’s  room,  where  they  sat 
down  to  look  over  the  situation.  Lincoln  took  from 
his  pocket  a paper  he  had  prepared  in  the  case,  which 
comprised  eleven  reasons  why  he  should  be  appointed 
Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office.  Amongst 
other  things  Lincoln  presented  the  fact  that  he  had  been  a 
member  of  Congress  from  Illinois  two  years;  that  his 
location  was  in  the  West,  where  the  government  lands 
were;  that  he  was  a native  of  the  West,  and  had  been 
reared  under  Western  influences.  He  gave  reasons  why 
the  appointment  should  be  given  to  Illinois,  and  particu- 
larly to  the  southern  part  of  the  State.  Major  Wilcox 
says  that  he  was  forcibly  struck  by  the  clear,  convincing, 
and  methodical  statement  of  Lincoln  as  contained  in  these 
eleven  reasons  why  he  should  have  the  appointment. 
But  it  was  given  to  Mr.  Butterfield. 

After  Lincoln  became  President,  a Member  of  Congress 
asked  him  for  an  appointment  in  the  army  in  behalf  of  a 
son  of  the  same  Justin  Butterfield.  When  the  application 
was  presented,  the  President  paused,  and  after  a moment’s 
silence,  said:  “Mr.  Justin  Butterfield  once  obtained  an 
appointment  I very  much  wanted,  in  which  my  friends 
believed  I could  have  been  useful,  and  to  which  they 
thought  I was  fairly  entitled.  I hardly  ever  felt  so  bad 
at  any  failure  in  my  life.  But  I am  glad  of  an  opportunity 
of  doing  a service  to  his  son.”  And  he  made  an  order  for 
his  commission.  In  lieu  of  the  desired  office,  General 
Taylor  offered  Lincoln  the  post  of  Governor,  and  after- 
wards of  Secretary,  of  Oregon  Territory;  but  these  offers 
he  declined.  In  after  years  a friend  remarked  to  him, 
alluding  to  the  event:  “How  fortunate  that  you  declined! 


108  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


If  you  had  gone  to  Oregon  you  might  have  come  back  as 
Senator,  but  you  would  never  have  been  President.” 
“Yes,  you  are  probably  right,”  said  Lincoln;  and  then, 
with  a musing,  dreamy  look,  he  added:  “I  have  all  my 
life  been  a fatalist.  What  is  to  be,  will  be;  or,  rather,  I 
have  found  all  my  life,  as  Hamlet  says,  — 

‘There’s  a divinity  that  shapes  our  ends, 
Rough-hew  them  how  we  will.’  ” 


CHAPTER  VII 


Lincoln  again  in  Springfield  — Back  to  the  Circuit  — His  Personal 
Manners  and  Appearance  — Glimpses  of  Home-Life  — His  Family 
— His  Absent-Mindedness  — A Painful  Subject  — Lincoln  a 
Man  of  Sorrows  — Familiar  Appearance  on  the  Streets  of  Spring- 
field  — Scenes  in  the  Law-Office  — Forebodings  of  a “ Great  or 
Miserable  End  ” — An  Evening  with  Lincoln  in  Chicago  — Lin- 
coln’s Tenderness  to  His  Relatives  — Death  of  His  Father  — A 
Sensible  Adviser  — Care  of  His  Step-Mother  — Tribute  from  Her. 

RETIRING,  somewhat  reluctantly,  from  Washington 
life,  which  he  seems  to  have  liked  very  much, 
Lincoln  returned  to  Springfield  in  1849  and  resumed  the 
practice  of  the  law.  He  declined  an  advantageous  offer 
of  a law-partnership  at  Chicago,  made  him  by  Judge 
Goodrich,  giving  as  a reason  that  if  he  went  to  Chicago 
he  would  have  to  sit  down  and  study  hard,  and  this  would 
kill  him;  that  he  would  rather  go  around  the  circuit  in  the 
country  than  to  sit  down  and  die  in  a big  city.  So  he 
settled  down  once  more  in  the  rather  uneventful  and 
fairly  prosperous  life  of  a country  lawyer. 

A gentleman  who  knew  Lincoln  intimately  in  Springfield, 
in  his  maturity,  has  given  the  following  capital  description 
of  him.  “He  stands  six  feet  four  inches  high  in  his  stock- 
ings. His  frame  is  not  muscular,  but  gaunt  and  wiry; 
his  arms  are  long,  but  not  disproportionately  so  for  a 
person  of  his  height;  his  lower  limbs  are  not  dispropor- 
tioned  to  his  body.  In  walking,  his  gait,  though  firm,  is 
never  brisk.  He  steps  slowly  and  deliberately,  almost 
always  with  his  head  inclined  forward  and  his  hands 
clasped  behind  his  back.  In  matters  of  dress  he  is  by  no 
means  precise.  Always  clean,  he  is  never  fashionable; 
he  is  careless,  but  not  slovenly.  In  manner  he  is  re- 


110  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


markably  cordial  and  at  the  same  time  simple.  His 
politeness  is  always  sincere  but  never  elaborate  and 
oppressive.  A warm  shake  of  the  hand  and  a warmer 
smile  of  recognition  are  his  methods  of  greeting  his  friends. 
At  rest,  his  features,  though  those  of  a man  of  mark,  are 
not  such  as  belong  to  a handsome  man;  but  when  his 
fine  dark  gray  eyes  are  lighted  up  by  any  emotion,  and 
his  features  begin  their  play,  he  would  be  chosen  from 
among  a crowd  as  one  who  had  in  him  not  only  the  kindly 
sentiments  which  women  love  but  the  heavier  metal  of 
which  full-grown  men  and  Presidents  are  made.  His 
hair  is  black,  and,  though  thin,  is  wiry.  His  head  sits 
well  on  his  shoulders,  but  beyond  that  it  defies  description. 
It  nearer  resembles  that  of  Clay  than  that  of  Webster; 
but  it  is  unlike  either.  It  is  very  large,  and  phrenologi- 
cally  well  proportioned,  betokening  power  in  all  its 
developments.  A slightly  Roman  nose,  a wide-cut  mouth, 
and  a dark  complexion,  with  the  appearance  of  having 
been  weather-beaten,  complete  the  description.” 

Of  Lincoln’s  life  at  this  period,  another  writer  says: 
‘‘He  lived  simply,  comfortably,  and  respectably,  with 
neither  expensive  tastes  nor  habits.  His  wants  were  few 
and  simple.  He  occupied  a small  unostentatious  house  in 
Springfield,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  entertaining,  in  a very 
simple  way,  his  friends  and  his  brethren  of  the  bar  during 
the  terms  of  the  court  and  the  sessions  of  the  Legislature. 
Mrs.  Lincoln  often  entertained  small  numbers  of  friends 
at  dinner  and  somewhat  larger  numbers  at  evening  parties. 
In  his  modest  and  simple  home  everything  was  orderly 
and  refined,  and  there  was  always,  on  the  part  of  both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln,  a cordial  and  hearty  Western  wel- 
come which  put  every  guest  at  ease.  Yet  it  was  the  wit 
and  humor,  anecdote,  and  unrivalled  conversation  of  the 
host  which  formed  the  chief  attraction  and  made  a dinner 
at  Lincoln’s  cottage  an  event  to  be  remembered.  Lincoln’s 
income  from  his  profession  was  now  from  $2,000  to  $3,000 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  111 


per  annum.  His  property  consisted  of  his  house  and  lot 
in  Springfield,  a lot  in  the  town  of  Lincoln  which  had  been 
given  to  him,  and  160  acres  of  wild  land  in  Iowa  which  he 
had  received  for  his  services  in  the  Black  Hawk  War. 
He  owned  a few  law  and  miscellaneous  books.  All  his 
property  may  have  been  of  the  value  of  $10,000  or 
$12,000.” 

Lincoln  was  at  this  time  the  father  of  two  sons : Robert 
Todd,  born  on  the  1st  day  of  August,  1843;  and  Edward 
Baker,  born  on  the  10th  of  March,  1846.  In  a letter  to 
his  friend  Speed,  dated  October  22  of  the  latter  year, 
Lincoln  writes:  “We  have  another  boy,  born  the  10th  of 
March.  He  is  very  much  such  a child  as  Bob  was  at  his 
age,  rather  of  a longer  order.  Bob  is  ‘short  and  low,’ 
and  I expect  he  always  will  be.  He  talks  very  plainly, 
almost  as  plainly  as  anybody.  He  is  quite  smart  enough. 
I sometimes  fear  he  is  one  of  the  little  rare-ripe  sort  that 
are  smarter  at  about  five  than  ever  after.  He  has  a great 
deal  of  that  sort  of  mischief  that  is  the  offspring  of  much 
animal  spirits.  Since  I began  this  letter  a messenger  came 
to  tell  me  Bob  was  lost;  but  by  the  time  I reached  the 
house  his  mother  had  found  him  and  had  him  whipped. 
By  now,  very  likely,  he  is  run  away  again.” 

December  21,  1850,  a third  son,  William  Wallace,  was 
born  to  him;  and  on  April  4,  1853,  a fourth  and  last  child, 
named  Thomas. 

“A  young  man  bred  in  Springfield,”  says  Dr.  Holland, 
“speaks  of  a vision  of  Lincoln,  as  he  appeared  in  those 
days,  that  has  clung  to  his  memory  very  vividly.  The 
young  man’s  way  to  school  led  by  the  lawyer’s  door. 
On  almost  any  fair  summer  morning  he  would  find  Lincoln 
on  the  sidewalk  in  front  of  his  house,  drawing  a child 
backward  and  forward  in  a little  gig.  Without  hat  or 
coat,  wearing  a pair  of  rough  shoes,  his  hands  behind  him 
holding  to  the  tongue  of  the  gig,  and  his  tall  form  bent 
forward  to  accommodate  himself  to  the  service,  he  paced 


112  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


up  and  down  the  walk  forgetful  of  everything  around  him 
and  intent  only  on  some  subject  that  absorbed  his  mind. 
The  young  man  says  he  remembers  wondering  in  his 
boyish  way  how  so  rough  and  plain  a man  should  happen 
to  live  in  so  respectable  a house.  The  habit  of  mental 
absorption,  or  ‘absent-mindedness’  as  it  is  called,  was 
common  with  him  always,  but  particularly  during  the 
formative  periods  of  his  life.  The  New  Salem  people,  it 
will  be  remembered,  thought  him  crazy  because  he  passed 
his  best  friends  in  the  street  without  seeing  them.  At 
the  table,  in  his  own  family,  he  often  sat  down  without 
knowing  or  realizing  where  he  was,  and  ate  his  food 
mechanically.  When  he  ‘came  to  himself’  it  was  a trick 
with  him  to  break  the  silence  by  the  quotation  of  some 
verse  of  poetry  from  a favorite  author.  It  relieved  the 
awkwardness  of  the  situation,  served  as  a ‘blind’  to  the 
thoughts  which  had  possessed  him,  and  started  conversa- 
tion in  a channel  that  led  as  far  as  possible  from  the 
subject  that  he  had  set  aside.” 

Mr.  Lamon  has  written  with  great  freedom  of  the  sorrow 
that  brooded  over  Lincoln’s  home.  Some  knowledge  of 
the  blight  which  this  cast  upon  his  life  is  necessary  for  a 
right  interpretation  of  the  gloomy  moods  that  constantly 
oppressed  him  and  left  their  indelible  impress  on  his  face 
and  character.  Mr.  Lamon  states  unreservedly  that 
Lincoln’s  marriage  was  an  unhappy  one.  The  circum- 
stances preceding  his  union  with  Miss  Todd  have  been 
related.  Mr.  Lamon  says:  “He  was  conscientious  and 
honorable  and  just.  There  was  but  one  way  of  repairing 
the  injury  he  had  done  Miss  Todd,  and  he  adopted  it. 
They  were  married;  but  they  understood  each  other,  and 
suffered  the  inevitable  consequences.  Such  troubles 
seldom  fail  to  find  a tongue;  and  it  is  not  strange  that  in 
this  case  neighbors  and  friends,  and  ultimately  the  whole 
country,  came  to  know  the  state  of  things  in  that  house. 
Lincoln  scarcely  attempted  to  conceal  it.  He  talked  of  it 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  113 


■with  little  or  no  reserve  to  his  wife’s  relatives,  as  well  as 
to  his  own  friends.  Yet  the  gentleness  and  patience  with 
which  he  bore  this  affliction  from  day  to  day  and  from  year 
to  year  was  enough  to  move  the  shade  of  Socrates.  It 
touched  his  acquaintances  deeply,  and  they  gave  it  the 
widest  publicity.”  Mrs.  Colonel  Chapman,  daughter  of 
Dennis  Hanks  and  a relative  of  Lincoln,  made  him  a long 
visit  previous  to  her  marriage.  “You  ask  me,”  says  she, 
“how  Mr.  Lincoln  acted  at  home.  I can  say,  and  that 
truly,  he  was  all  that  a husband,  father,  and  neighbor 
should  be,  kind  and  affectionate  to  his  wife  and  child 
(‘Bob’  being  the  only  one  they  had  when  I was  with 
them),  and  very  pleasant  to  all  around  him.  Never  did 
I hear  him  utter  an  unkind  word.” 

It  seems  impossible  to  arrive  at  all  the  causes  of  Lincoln’s 
melancholy  disposition.  He  was,  according  to  his  most 
intimate  friends,  totally  unlike  other  people,  — was,  in 
fact,  “a  mystery.”  But  whatever  the  history  or  the 
cause,  — whether  physical  reasons,  the  absence  of  domes- 
tic concord,  a series  of  painful  recollections  of  his  mother, 
of  early  sorrows  and  hardships,  of  Anne  Rutledge  and 
fruitless  hopes,  or  all  these  combined,  — Lincoln  was  a 
terribly  sad  and  gloomy  man.  “I  do  not  think  that  he 
knew  what  happiness  was  for  twenty  years,”  says  Mr. 
Herndon.  “‘  Terrible'  is  the  word  which  all  his  friends 
used  to  describe  him  in  the  black  mood.  ‘It  was  terrible! 
It  was  terrible!’  said  one  to  another.”  Judge  Davis 
believes  that  Lincoln’s  hilarity  was  mainly  simulated,  and 
that  “his  stories  and  jokes  were  intended  to  whistle  off 
sadness.”  “The  groundwork  of  his  social  nature  was  sad,” 
says  Judge  Scott.  “But  for  the  fact  that  he  studiously 
cultivated  the  humorous,  it  would  have  been  very  sad 
indeed.  His  mirth  always  seemed  to  me  to  be  put  on; 
like  a plant  produced  in  a hot-bed,  it  had  an  unnatural 
and  luxuriant  growth.”  Mr.  Herndon,  Lincoln’s  law- 
partner  and  most  intimate  friend,  describes  him  at  this 


114  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


period  as  a “thin,  tall,  wiry,  sinewy,  grizzly,  raw-boned 
man,  looking  ‘woe-struck.’  His  countenance  was  haggard 
and  careworn,  exhibiting  all  the  marks  of  deep  and  pro- 
tracted suffering.  Every  feature  of  the  man  — the  hollow 
eyes,  with  the  dark  rings  beneath;  the  long,  sallow, 
cadaverous  face  intersected  by  those  peculiar  deep  lines; 
his  whole  air;  his  walk;  his  long  silent  reveries,  broken  at 
long  intervals  by  sudden  and  startling  exclamations,  as  if 
to  confound  an  observer  who  might  suspect  the  nature  of 
his  thoughts,  — showed  he  was  a man  of  sorrows,  not 
sorrows  of  to-day  or  yesterday,  but  long-treasured  and 
deep,  bearing  with  him  a continual  sense  of  weariness  and 
pain.  He  was  a plain,  homely,  sad,  weary-looking  man, 
to  whom  one’s  heart  warmed  involuntarily  because  he 
seemed  at  once  miserable  and  kind.” 

Mr.  Page  Eaton,  an  old  resident  of  Springfield,  says: 
“Lincoln  always  did  his  own  marketing,  even  after  he 
was  elected  President  and  before  he  went  to  Washington. 
I used  to  see  him  at  the  butcher’s  or  baker’s  every  morning, 
with  his  basket  on  his  arm.  He  was  kind  and  sociable, 
and  would  always  speak  to  everyone.  He  was  so  kind, 
so  childlike,  that  I don’t  believe  there  was  one  in  the  city 
who  didn’t  love  him  as  a father  or  brother.”  “On  a 
winter’s  morning,”  says  Mr.  Lamon,  “he  could  be  seen 
wending  his  way  to  the  market,  with  a basket  on  his  arm 
and  at  his  side  a little  boy  whose  small  feet  rattled  and 
pattered  over  the  ice-bound  pavement,  attempting  to 
make  up  by  the  number  of  his  short  steps  for  the  long 
strides  of  his  father.  The  little  fellow  jerked  at  the  bony 
hand  which  held  his,  and  prattled  and  questioned,  begged 
and  grew  petulant,  in  a vain  effort  to  make  his  father 
talk  to  him.  But  the  latter  was  probably  unconscious  of 
the  other’s  existence,  and  stalked  on,  absorbed  in  his  own 
reflections.  He  wore  on  such  occasions  an  old  gray  shawl, 
rolled  into  a coil  and  wrapped  like  a rope  around  his 
neck.  The  rest  of  his  clothes  were  in  keeping.  ‘He  did 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  115 


not  walk  cunningly  — Indian-like  — but  cautiously  and 
firmly.’  His  tread  was  even  and  strong.  He  was  a little 
pigeon-toed;  and  this,  with  another  peculiarity,  made, 
his  walk  very  singular.  He  set  his  whole  foot  flat  on  the 
ground,  and  in  turn  lifted  it  all  at  once  — not  resting 
momentarily  upon  the  toe  as  the  foot  rose  nor  upon  the 
heel  as  it  fell.  He  never  wore  his  shoes  out  at  the  heel 
and  the  toe,  as  most  men  do,  more  than  at  the  middle. 
Yet  his  gait  was  not  altogether  awkward,  and  there  was 
manifest  physical  power  in  his  step.  As  he  moved  along 
thus,  silent  and  abstracted,  his  thoughts  dimly  reflected 
in  his  sharp  face,  men  turned  to  look  after  him  as  an  object 
of  sympathy  as  well  as  curiosity.  His  melancholy,  in 
the  words  of  Mr.  Herndon,  ‘ dripped  from  him  as  he  walked.’ 
If,  however,  he  met  a friend  in  the  street,  and  was  roused 
by  a hearty  ‘ Good-morning,  Lincoln ! ’ he  would  grasp  the 
friend’s  hand  with  one  or  both  of  his  own,  and  with  his 
usual  expression  of  ‘Howdy!  howdy!’  would  detain  him 
to  hear  a story;  something  reminded  him  of  it;  it  happened 
in  Indiana,  and  it  must  be  told,  for  it  was  wonderfully 
pertinent.  It  was  not  at  home  that  he  most  enjoyed 
seeing  company.  He  preferred  to  meet  his  friends  abroad, 
— on  a street-corner,  in  an  office,  at  the  court-house,  or 
sitting  on  nail-kegs  in  a country  store.”  Mrs.  Lincoln 
experienced  great  difficulty  in  securing  the  punctual 
attendance  of  her  husband  at  the  family  meals.  Dr. 
Bateman  has  repeatedly  seen  two  of  the  boys  pulling  with 
all  their  might  at  his  coat-tails,  and  a third  pushing  in 
front,  while  paterfamilias  stood  upon  the  street  cordially 
shaking  the  hand  of  an  old  acquaintance. 

After  his  breakfast-hour,  says  Mr.  Lamon,  he  would 
appear  at  his  office  and  go  about  the  labors  of  the  day  with 
all  his  might,  displaying  prodigious  industry  and  capacity 
for  continuous  application,  although  he  never  was  a fast 
worker.  Sometimes  it  happened  that  he  came  without 
his  breakfast;  and  then  he  would  have  in  his  hands  a piece 


116  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


of  cheese  or  bologna  sausage,  and  a few  crackers,  bought 
by  the  way.  At  such  times  he  did  not  speak  to  his  partner, 
or  his  friends  if  any  happened  to  be  present;  the  tears 
perhaps  struggling  into  his  eyes,  while  his  pride  was  strug- 
gling to  keep  them  back.  Mr.  Herndon  knew  the  whole 
story  at  a glance.  There  was  no  speech  between  them, 
but  neither  wished  the  visitors  at  the  office  to  witness  the 
scene.  So  Lincoln  retired  to  the  back  office  while  Mr. 
Herndon  locked  the  front  one  and  walked  away  with  the 
key  in  his  pocket.  In  an  hour  or  more  the  latter  would 
return  and  perhaps  find  Lincoln  calm  and  collected. 
Otherwise  he  went  out  again  and  wTaited  until  he  was  so. 
Then  the  office  was  opened  and  everything  went  on  as 
usual. 

“His  mind  was  filled  with  gloomy  forebodings  and 
strong  apprehensions  of  impending  evil,  mingled  with 
extravagant  visions  of  personal  grandeur  and  power.  He 
never  doubted  for  a moment  that  he  was  formed  for  some 
‘great  or  miserable  end.’  He  talked  about  it  frequently 
and  sometimes  calmly.  Mr.  Herndon  remembers  many 
of  these  conversations  in  their  office  at  Springfield  and  in 
their  rides  around  the  circuit.  Lincoln  said  the  impression 
had  grown  in  him  all  his  life;  but  Mr.  Herndon  thinks  it 
was  about  1840  that  it  took  the  character  of  a ‘religious 
conviction.’  He  had  then  suffered  much,  and  consider- 
ing his  opportunities  he  had  achieved  great  things.  He 
was  already  a leader  among  men,  and  a most  brilliant 
career  had  been  promised  him  by  the  prophetic  enthusiasm 
of  many  friends.  Thus  encouraged  and  stimulated,  and 
feeling  himself  growing  gradually  stronger  and  stronger 
in  the  estimation  of  ‘the  plain  people’  whose  voice  was 
more  potent  than  all  the  Warwicks,  his  ambition  painted 
the  rainbow  of  glory  in  the  sky,  while  his  morbid  mel- 
ancholy supplied  the  clouds  that  were  to  overcast  and 
obliterate  it  w ith  the  wrath  and  ruin  of  the  tempest.  To 
him  it  was  fate,  and  there  was  no  escape  or  defense.  The 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  117 


presentiment  never  deserted  him.  It  was  as  clear,  as 
perfect,  as  certain  as  any  image  conveyed  by  the  senses. 
He  had  now  entertained  it  so  long  that  it  was  as  much  a 
part  of  his  nature  as  the  consciousness  of  identity.  All 
doubts  had  faded  away,  and  he  submitted  humbly  to  a 
power  which  he  could  neither  comprehend  nor  resist. 
He  was  to  fall,  — fall  from  a lofty  place  and  in  the  per- 
formance of  a great  work.” 

On  one  occasion  Lincoln  visited  Chicago  as  counsel  in 
a case  in  the  U.  S.  District  Court.  The  Hon.  N.  B.  Judd, 
an  intimate  friend,  was  also  engaged  upon  the  case,  and 
took  Mr.  Lincoln  home  with  him  as  a guest.  The  follow- 
ing account  of  this  visit  is  given  by  Mrs.  Judd  in  Oldroyd’s 
Memorial  Album:  “Mr.  Judd  had  invited  Mr.  Lincoln 
to  spend  the  evening  at  our  pleasant  home  on  the  shore  of 
Lake  Michigan.  After  tea,  and  until  quite  late,  we  sat 
on  the  broad  piazza,  looking  out  upon  as  lovely  a scene  as 
that  which  has  made  the  Bay  of  Naples  so  celebrated. 
A number  of  vessels  were  availing  themselves  of  a fine 
breeze  to  leave  the  harbor,  and  the  lake  was  studded  with 
many  a white  sail.  I remember  that  a flock  of  sea-gulls 
were  flying  along  the  beach,  dipping  their  beaks  and  white- 
lined  wings  in  the  foam  that  capped  the  short  waves  as 
they  fell  upon  the  shore.  Whilst  we  sat  there  the  great 
white  moon  appeared  on  the  rim  of  the  eastern  horizon 
and  slowly  crept  above  the  water,  throwing  a perfect 
flood  of  silver  light  upon  the  dancing  waves.  The  stars 
shone  with  the  soft  light  of  a midsummer  night,  and  the 
breaking  of  the  low  waves  upon  the  shore  added  the  charm 
of  pleasant  sound  to  the  beauty  of  the  night.  Mr.  Lincoln, 
whose  home  was  far  inland  from  the  great  lakes,  seemed 
greatly  impressed  with  the  wondrous  beauty  of  the  scene, 
and  carried  by  its  impressiveness  away  from  all  thought 
of  jars  and  turmoil  of  earth.  In  that  mild,  pleasant  voice, 
attuned  to  harmony  with  his  surroundings,  as  was  his 
wont  when  his  soul  was  stirred  by  aught  that  was  lovely  or 


118  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


beautiful,  Mr.  Lincoln  began  to  speak  of  the  mystery  which 
for  ages  enshrouded  and  shut  out  those  distant  worlds 
above  us  from  our  own;  of  the  poetry  and  beauty  which 
was  seen  and  felt  by  seers  of  old  when  they  contemplated 
Orion  and  Arcturus  as  they  wheeled,  seemingly  around  the 
earth,  in  their  nightly  course;  of  the  discoveries  since  the 
invention  of  the  telescope,  which  had  thrown  a flood  of 
light  and  knowledge  on  what  before  was  incomprehensible 
and  mysterious;  of  the  wonderful  computations  of 
scientists  who  had  measured  the  miles  of  seemingly  endless 
space  which  separated  the  planets  in  our  solar  system  from 
our  central  sun,  and  our  sun  from  other  suns.  He  specu- 
lated on  the  possibilities  of  knowledge  which  an  increased 
power  of  the  lens  would  give  in  the  years  to  come.  When 
the  night  air  became  too  chilling  to  remain  longer  on  the 
piazza  we  went  into  the  parlor.  Seated  on  the  sofa,  his 
long  limbs  stretching  across  the  carpet  and  his  arms  folded 
behind  him,  Mr.  Lincoln  went  on  to  speak  of  other  dis- 
coveries, of  the  inventions  which  had  been  made  during 
the  long  cycles  of  time  lying  between  the  present  and  those 
early  days  when  the  sons  of  Adam  began  to  make  use  of 
material  things  about  them  and  invent  instruments  of 
various  kinds  in  brass  and  gold  and  silver.  He  gave  us  a 
short  but  succinct  account  of  all  the  inventions  referred 
to  in  the  Old  Testament,  from  the  time  when  Adam 
walked  in  the  garden  of  Eden  until  the  Bible  record  ended, 
600  b.c.  I said,  ‘Mr.  Lincoln,  I did  not  know  you  were 
such  a Bible  student.’  He  replied:  ‘I  must  be  honest, 
Mrs.  Judd,  and  tell  you  just  how  I come  to  know  so  much 
about  these  early  inventions.’  He  then  went  on  to  say 
that  in  discussing  with  some  friend  the  relative  age  of  the 
discovery  and  use  of  the  precious  metals  he  went  to  the 
Bible  to  satisfy  himself  and  became  so  interested  in  his 
researches  that  he  made  memoranda  of  the  different 
discoveries  and  inventions.  Soon  after,  he  was  invited 
to  lecture  before  some  literary  society,  I think  in  Bloom- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  119 


ington.  The  interest  he  had  felt  in  the  study  convinced 
him  that  the  subject  would  interest  others,  and  he  there- 
fore prepared  and  delivered  his  lecture  on  The  Age  of 
Different  Inventions.  ‘Of  course,’  he  added,  ‘I  could  not 
after  that  forget  the  order  or  time  of  such  discoveries  and 
inventions.’  ” 

In  all  the  years  that  had  passed  since  Lincoln  left  his 
father’s  humble  house,  he  had  preserved  an  affectionate 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  its  various  members.  He  paid 
them  visits  whenever  he  could  find  opportunity,  and  never 
failed  to  extend  his  aid  and  sympathy  whenever  needed. 
He  had  risen  to  success  in  his  profession,  was  widely 
known  throughout  his  section,  and  though  still  a poor 
man  he  had  good  prospects  and  considerable  influence. 
Yet  he  ever  retained  a considerate  regard  and  remembrance 
for  the  poor  and  obscure  relatives  he  had  left  plodding  in 
the  humble  ways  of  life.  He  never  assumed  the  slightest 
superiority  to  them.  Whenever,  upon  his  circuit,  he  found 
time,  he  always  visited  them.  Countless  times  he  was 
known  to  leave  his  companions  at  the  village  hotel  after 
a hard  day’s  work  in  the  court-room  and  spend  the  evening 
with  these  old  friends  and  companions  of  his  humbler 
days.  On  one  occasion,  when  urged  not  to  go,  he  replied, 
“Why,  Aunt’s  heart  woidd  be  broken  if  I should  leave 
town  without  calling  upon  her,”  — yet  he  was  obliged  to 
walk  several  miles  to  make  the  call.  As  his  fortunes 
improved  he  often  sent  money  and  presents  to  his  father 
and  step-mother,  bought  land  for  them,  and  tried  in  every 
way  to  make  them  comfortable  and  happy.  The  father 
was  gratified  at  these  marks  of  affection,  and  felt  great 
pride  in  the  rising  prosperity  of  his  son.  Mr.  Herndon 
says  that  “for  years  Lincoln  supported  or  helped  to 
support  his  aged  father  and  mother.  It  is  to  his  honor 
that  he  dearly  loved  his  step-mother,  and  it  is  equally 
true  that  she  idolized  her  step-son.  He  purchased  a 
piece  of  property  in  Coles  County  as  a home  for  his  father 


120  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


and  mother,  and  had  it  deeded  in  trust  for  their  use  and 
benefit.” 

In  1851  Lincoln’s  father  died,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
three.  The  following  letter,  written  a few  days  before 
this  event,  reveals  the  affectionate  solicitude  of  the  son : 

Springfield,  Jan.  12,  1851. 

Dear  Brother  : — On  the  day  before  yesterday  I 
received  a letter  from  Harriet,  written  at  Greenup.  She 
says  she  has  just  returned  from  your  house,  and  that 
father  is  very  low  and  will  hardly  recover.  She  also  says 
that  you  have  written  me  two  letters,  and  that,  although 
you  do  not  expect  me  to  come  now,  you  wonder  that  I do 
not  write.  I received  both  your  letters;  and  although  I 
have  not  answered  them,  it  is  not  because  I have  forgotten 
them,  or  not  been  interested  about  them,  but  because  it 
appeared  to  me  I could  write  nothing  which  could  do  any 
good.  You  already  know  I desire  that  neither  father  nor 
mother  shall  be  in  want  of  any  comfort,  either  in  health  or 
sickness,  while  they  live;  and  I feel  sure  you  have  not 
failed  to  use  my  name,  if  necessary,  to  procure  a doctor  or 
anything  else  for  father  in  his  present  sickness.  My 
business  is  such  that  I could  hardly  leave  home  now,  if  it 
were  not,  as  it  is,  that  my  wife  is  sick  a-bed.  I sincerely 
hope  father  may  yet  recover  his  health;  but,  at  all  events, 
tell  him  to  remember  to  call  upon  and  confide  in  our  great 
and  good  and  merciful  Maker,  who  will  not  turn  away  from 
him  in  any  extremity.  He  notes  the  fall  of  a sparrow,  and 
numbers  the  hairs  of  our  heads;  and  He  will  not  forget  the 
dying  man  who  puts  his  trust  in  Him.  Say  to  him,  that 
if  we  could  meet  now  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  would  not 
be  more  painful  than  pleasant;  but  that  if  it  be  his  lot  to 
go  now  he  will  soon  have  a joyous  meeting  with  loved  ones 
gone  before,  and  where  the  rest  of  us,  through  the  help  of 
God,  hope  ere  long  to  join  them. 

Write  me  again  when  you  receive  this. 

Affectionately, 

A.  Lincoln. 

The  step-brother,  John  Johnston,  to  whom  the  fore- 
going letter  is  addressed,  was  the  cause  of  considerable 
anxiety  to  Lincoln.  It  was  with  him  that  their  parents 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  121 


resided,  and  frequent  were  his  appeals  to  Lincoln  to  ex- 
tricate him  from  some  pecuniary  strait  into  which  he  had 
fallen  through  his  confirmed  thriftlessness  and  improvi- 
dence. “John  Johnston,”  Mr.  Herndon  says,  “was  an 
indolent  and  shiftless  man,  one  who  was  ‘born  tired.’ 
Yet  he  was  clever,  generous  and  hospitable.”  The  follow- 
ing document  affords  a hint  of  Lincoln’s  kindly  patience 
as  well  as  of  his  capacity  for  sound  practical  advice  when 
it  was  much  needed: 

Dear  Johnston:  — Your  request  for  eighty  dollars  I 
do  not  think  it  best  to  comply  with  now.  At  the  various 
times  when  I have  helped  you  a little  you  have  said  to  me, 
‘We  can  get  along  very  well  now’;  but  in  a very  short  time 
I find  you  in  the  same  difficulty  again.  Now,  this  can  only 
happen  by  some  defect  in  your  conduct.  What  that  defect 
is,  I think  I know.  You  are  not  lazy,  and  still  you  are  an 
idler.  I doubt  whether,  since  I saw  you,  you  have  done 
a good  whole  day’s  work  in  any  one  day.  You  do  not  very 
much  dislike  to  work,  and  still  you  do  not  work  much,  merely 
because  it  does  not  seem  to  you  that  you  could  get  much 
for  it.  This  habit  of  uselessly  wasting  time  is  the  whole 
difficulty ; and  it  is  vastly  important  to  you,  and  still  more 
so  to  your  children,  that  you  should  break  the  habit.  It 
is  more  important  to  them,  because  they  have  longer  to 
live,  and  can  keep  out  of  an  idle  habit  before  they  are  in  it 
easier  than  they  can  get  out  after  they  are  in.  You  are 
now  in  need  of  some  money;  and  what  I propose  is  that 
you  shall  go  to  work,  ‘tooth  and  nail,’  for  somebody  who 
will  give  you  money  for  it.  Let  father  and  your  boys  take 
charge  of  things  at  home,  prepare  for  a crop,  and  make  the 
crop,  and  you  go  to  work  for  the  best  money-wages,  or  in 
discharge  of  any  debt  you  owe,  that  you  can  get;  and,  to 
secure  you  a fair  reward  for  your  labor,  I now  promise  you, 
that,  for  every  dollar  you  will,  between  this  and  the  first 
of  next  May,  get  for  your  own  labor,  either  in  money  or  as 
your  own  indebtedness,  I will  then  give  you  one  other 
dollar.  By  this,  if  you  hire  yourself  at  ten  dollars  a month, 
from  me  you  will  get  ten  more,  making  twenty  dollars  a 
month  for  your  work.  In  this  I do  not  mean  you  shall  go 
off  to  St.  Louis,  or  the  lead-mines,  or  the  gold-mines  in 


122  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


California;  but  I mean  for  you  to  go  at  it,  for  the  best 
wages  you  can  get,  close  to  home,  in  Coles  County.  Now, 
if  you  will  do  this  you  will  soon  be  out  of  debt,  and,  what  is 
better,  you  will  have  a habit  that  will  keep  you  from 
getting  in  debt  again.  But  if  I should  now  clear  you  out 
of  debt,  next  year  you  would  be  in  just  as  deep  as  ever. 
You  say  you  would  almost  give  your  place  in  heaven  for 
$70  or  $80.  Then  you  value  your  place  in  heaven  very 
cheap;  for  I am  sure  you  can,  with  the  offer  I make,  get 
the  seventy  or  eighty  dollars  for  four  or  five  months’ 
work.  You  say,  if  I will  furnish  you  the  money,  you  will 
deed  me  the  land,  and  if  you  don’t  pay  the  money  back, 
you  will  deliver  possession.  Nonsense!  If  you  can’t 
now  live  with  the  land,  how  will  you  then  live  without  it? 
You  have  always  been  kind  to  me,  and  I do  not  mean  to 
be  unkind  to  you.  On  the  contrary,  if  you  will  but  follow 
my  advice,  you  will  find  it  worth  more  than  eighty  times 
eighty  dollars  to  you. 

Affectionately  your  brother, 

A.  Lincoln. 

In  other  letters  he  wrote  even  more  sharply  to  his 
thriftless  step-brother. 

Shelbyville,  Nov.  4,  1851 

Dear  Brother:  — When  I came  into  Charleston,  day 
before  yesterday,  I learned  that  you  are  anxious  to  sell 
the  land  where  you  live,  and  move  to  Missouri.  I have 
been  thinking  of  this  ever  since,  and  cannot  but  think 
such  a notion  is  utterly  foolish.  What  can  you  do  in 
Missouri  better  than  here?  Is  the  land  any  richer?  Can 
you  there,  any  more  than  here,  raise  corn  and  wheat  and 
oats  without  work?  Will  any  body  there,  any  more  than 
here,  do  your  work  for  you?  If  you  intend  to  go  to  work, 
there  is  no  better  place  than  right  where  you  are;  if  you 
do  not  intend  to  go  to  work,  you  can  not  get  along  any- 
where. Squirming  and  crawling  about  from  place  to  place 
can  do  no  good.  You  have  raised  no  crop  this  year;  and 
what  you  really  want  is  to  sell  the  land,  get  the  money 
and  spend  it.  Part  with  the  land  you  have,  and,  my  life 
upon  it,  you  will  never  after  own  a spot  big  enough  to 
bury  you  in.  Half  of  what  you  will  get  for  the  land  you 
will  spend  in  moving  to  Missouri,  and  the  other  half  you 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  123 


will  eat  and  drink  and  wear  out,  and  no  foot  of  land  will 
be  bought.  Now,  I feel  it  is  my  duty  to  have  no  hand  in 
such  a piece  of  foolery.  I feel  that  it  is  so  even  on  your 
own  account,  and  particularly  on  mother’s  account.  The 
eastern  forty  acres  I intend  to  keep  for  mother  while  she 
lives;  if  you  will  not  cultivate  it,  it  will  rent  for  enough  to 
support  her;  at  least,  it  will  rent  for  something.  Her 
dower  in  the  other  two  forties  she  can  let  you  have,  and  no 
thanks  to  me.  Now,  do  not  misunderstand  this  letter. 
I do  not  write  it  in  any  unkindness.  I write  it  in  order,  if 
possible,  to  get  you  to  face  the  truth,  which  truth  is,  you 
are  destitute  because  you  have  idled  away  all  your  time. 
Your  thousand  pretences  for  not  getting  along  better  are 
all  nonsense.  They  deceive  nobody  but  yourself.  Go  to 
work  is  the  only  cure  for  your  case. 

Sincerely  yours, 

A.  Lincoln. 

In  still  another  letter  he  reveals  his  tender  solicitude 
for  his  step-mother,  as  well  as  his  care  for  his  step-brother’s 
unfortunate  children. 


Shelbyville,  Nov.  9,  1851 

Dear  Brother  : — When  I wrote  you  before,  I had  not 
received  your  letter.  I still  think  as  I did ; but  if  the  land 
can  be  sold  so  that  I get  $300  to  put  at  interest  for  mother, 
I will  not  object,  if  she  does  not.  But  before  I will  make  a 
deed,  the  money  must  be  had,  or  secured  beyond  all  doubt, 
at  ten  per  cent.  As  to  Abram,  I do  not  want  him  on  my 
own  account;  but  I understand  he  wants  to  live  with  me, 
so  that  he  can  go  to  school,  and  get  a fair  start  in  the  world, 
which  I very  much  wish  him  to  have.  When  I reach  home, 
if  I can  make  it  convenient  I will  take  him,  provided  there 
is  no  mistake  between  us  as  to  the  object  and  terms  of  my 
taking  him. 

In  haste,  as  ever, 

A.  Lincoln. 

In  speaking  of  Lincoln’s  regard  for  his  step-mother,  it 
is  interesting  also  to  learn  her  opinion  of  him.  A gentle- 
man visiting  the  old  lady  after  her  son’s  death  says:  “She 
is  eighty-four  years  old,  and  quite  feeble.  She  is  a plain, 


124  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


unsophisticated  old  lady,  with  a frank,  open  countenance, 
a warm  heart  full  of  kindness  toward  others,  and  in  many 
respects  very  much  like  the  President.  Abraham  was 
evidently  her  idol;  she  speaks  of  him  still  as  her  ‘good 
boy,’  and  with  much  feeling  said,  ‘He  was  always  a good 
boy,  and  willing  to  do  just  what  I wanted.  He  and  his 
step-brother  never  quarrelled  but  once,  and  that,  you 
know,  is  a great  deal  for  step-brothers.  I didn’t  want 
him  elected  President.  I knowed  they  would  kill  him.’” 
She  died  in  April,  1869,  and  was  buried  by  the  side  of  her 
husband,  Thomas  Lincoln. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


Lincoln  as  a Lawyer  — His  Appearance  in  Court  — Reminiscences  of 
a Law-Student  in  Lincoln’s  Office  — An  “ Office  Copy  ” of  Byron 
— Novel  way  of  Keeping  Partnership  Accounts  — Charges  for  Legal 
Services  — Trial  of  Bill  Armstrong  — Lincoln  before  a Jury  — 
Kindness  toward  Unfortunate  Clients  — Refusing  to  Defend 
Guilty  Men — Courtroom  Anecdotes  — Anecdotes  of  Lincoln  at 
the  Bar  — Some  Striking  Opinions  of  Lincoln  as  a Lawyer. 

THE  ten  years  following  the  close  of  Lincoln’s  Con- 
gressional service,  in  1849,  were  given  to  the  unin- 
terrupted practice  of  the  law,  to  which  he  devoted  himself 
laboriously  and  successfully,  though  not  with  great  pe- 
cuniary gains.  His  legal  fees  were  regarded  by  his  brethren 
at  the  bar  as  “ridiculously  small.”  His  practice  had 
extended  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  his  State  and  to  the 
United  States  District  and  Circuit  Courts,  and  he  was 
occasionally  retained  for  cases  in  other  States.  With 
greater  love  of  money  and  less  sympathy  for  his  fellows, 
he  might  have  acquired  a fortune  in  his  profession. 

Lincoln  never  speculated.  Apparently  he  had  no  great 
desire  to  acquire  wealth.  He  had  many  opportunities 
in  the  days  of  the  State’s  early  growth  to  make  good  and 
safe  investments,  but  he  never  took  advantage  of  them. 
Many  of  his  fellow  lawyers  were  becoming  wealthy,  but 
Lincoln  still  rode  the  circuit  wearing  the  familiar  gray 
shawl  about  his  shoulders,  carrying  a carpet-bag  filled 
with  papers  and  a change  of  underclothing,  and  a faded, 
green  cotton  umbrella  with  “A.  Lincoln”  in  large  white 
muslin  letters  on  the  inside.  The  knob  was  gone  from 
the  handle  of  the  umbrella  and  a piece  of  twine  kept  it 
from  falling  open.  A young  lawyer  who  saw  him  for  the 
first  time  thus  — one  who  grew  to  love  him  and  who  after- 


126  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


wards  gave  his  life  for  the  Union  — in  relating  the  cir- 
cumstance a long  time  afterward,  exclaimed:  “He  was  the 
ungodliest  figure  I ever  saw.” 

An  interesting  and  vivid  description  of  Lincoln’s  per- 
sonal appearance  and  manner  in  the  trial  of  a case  is 
furnished  by  one  who  was  a witness  of  the  scenes  which  he 
so  admirably  describes.  The  writer  says:  “While  living 
in  Danville,  Illinois,  in  1854,  I saw  Abraham  Lincoln  for 
the  first  time.  The  occasion  of  his  visit  was  as  prosecutor 
of  a slander  suit  brought  by  Dr.  Fithian  against  a wealthy 
farmer  whose  wife  died  under  the  doctor’s  hands.  The 
defense  was  represented  by  Edward  A.  Hannegan,  of 
Indiana,  ex-United  States  Senator  and  afterward  Minister 
to  Berlin,  an  able  and  eloquent  man;  and  0.  B.  Ficklin, 
who,  after  Douglas  and  Lincoln,  was  considered  the  best 
lawyer  in  Illinois.  Lincoln  had  all  he  could  do  to  maintain 
himself  against  his  two  formidable  adversaries,  but  he  was 
equal  to  the  occasion.  The  trial  lasted  three  or  four  days, 
the  examination  of  witnesses  consuming  most  of  the  time. 
In  this  part  of  the  work  Lincoln  displayed  remarkable 
tact.  He  did  not  badger  the  witnesses,  or  attempt  to 
confuse  them.  His  questions  were  plain  and  practical, 
and  elicited  answers  that  had  a direct  bearing  upon  the 
case.  He  did  nothing  for  effect,  and  made  no  attempt  to 
dazzle  the  jury  or  captivate  the  audience.  When  he  arose 
to  speak  he  was  confronted  by  an  audience  that  was  too 
numerous  for  all  to  find  seats  in  the  court-room.  He  was 
attired  in  a fine  broadcloth  suit,  silk  hat,  and  polished 
boots.  His  neck  was  encircled  by  an  old-fashioned  silk 
choker.  He  perspired  freely,  and  used  a red  silk  handker- 
chief to  remove  the  perspiration.  His  clothes  fitted  him, 
and  he  was  as  genteel-looking  as  any  man  in  the  audience. 
The  slouchy  appearance  which  he  is  said  to  have  presented 
on  other  occasions  was  conspicuously  absent  here.  As 
he  stood  before  the  vast  audience,  towering  above  every 
person  around  him,  he  was  the  centre  of  attraction.  I 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  127 


can  never  forget  how  he  looked,  as  he  cast  his  eyes  over 
the  crowd  before  beginning  his  argument.  His  face  was 
long  and  sallow;  high  cheek  bones;  large,  deep-set  eyes, 
of  a grayish-brown  color,  shaded  by  heavy  eyebrows; 
high  but  not  broad  forehead;  large,  well-formed  head, 
covered  with  an  abundance  of  coarse  black  hair,  worn 
rather  long,  through  which  he  frequently  passed  his 
fingers;  arms  and  legs  of  unusual  length;  head  inclined 
slightly  forward,  which  made  him  appear  stoop-shouldered. 
His  features  betrayed  neither  excitement  nor  anxiety. 
They  were  calm  and  fixed.  In  short,  his  appearance  was 
that  of  a man  who  felt  the  responsibility  of  his  position 
and  was  determined  to  acquit  himself  to  the  best  of  his 
ability.  I do  not  remember  the  points  of  his  speech;  but 
his  manner  was  so  peculiar,  so  different  from  that  of  other 
orators  whom  I have  heard,  that  I can  never  forget  it. 
He  spoke  for  almost  two  hours,  entirely  without  notes 
and  with  an  eloquence  that  I have  never  heard  surpassed. 
He  was  all  life,  all  motion;  every  muscle  and  fibre  of  his 
body  seemed  brought  into  requisition.  His  voice  was 
clear,  distinct,  and  well  modulated.  Every  word  was 
clean-cut  and  exactly  suited  to  its  place.  At  times  he 
would  stoop  over  until  his  hands  almost  swept  the  floor. 
Then  he  would  straighten  himself  up,  fold  his  arms  across 
his  breast,  and  take  a few  steps  forward  or  back.  This 
movement  completed,  he  would  fling  his  arms  above  his 
head,  or  thrust  them  beneath  his  coat-tails,  elevating  or 
depressing  his  voice  to  suit  the  attitude  assumed  and  the 
sentiment  expressed.  Arms  and  legs  were  continually 
in  motion.  It  seemed  impossible  for  him  to  stand  still. 
In  the  midst  of  the  most  impassioned  or  pathetic  portions 
of  his  speech,  he  would  extend  his  long  arms  toward  the 
judge  or  jury,  and  shake  his  bony  fingers  with  an  effect 
that  is  indescribable.  He  held  his  audience  to  the  last; 
and  when  he  sat  down  there  was  a murmur  of  applause 
which  the  judge  with  difficulty  prevented  from  swelling 


128  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


to  a roar.  The  argument  must  have  been  as  able  as  the 
manner  of  the  speaker  was  attractive,  for  the  verdict  was 
in  favor  of  his  client. 

“When  he  had  retired  to  his  hotel  after  the  trial,  and 
while  conversing  with  a number  of  gentlemen  who  had 
called  to  pay  their  respects  to  him,  Lincoln  was  informed 
that  an  old  colored  woman,  who  had  known  him  years 
before  in  Kentucky,  wished  to  see  him.  She  was  too 
feeble  to  come  to  him,  and  desired  him  to  go  to  her. 
Ascertaining  where  she  lived,  Lincoln  started  at  once, 
accompanied  by  a boy  who  acted  as  pilot.  He  found  the 
woman  in  a wretched  hovel  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town, 
sick  and  destitute.  He  remembered  her  very  well,  as  she 
had  belonged  to  the  owner  of  the  farm  upon  which  Lincoln 
was  born.  He  gave  her  money  to  supply  her  immediate 
wants,  promised  her  that  he  would  see  she  did  not  suffer 
for  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  when  he  returned  to  town 
hunted  up  a physician  and  engaged  him  to  give  the  old 
woman  all  the  medical  attention  that  her  case  demanded.” 

Mr.  G.  W.  Harris,  whose  first  meeting  with  Lincoln 
in  a log  school-house  has  been  previously  described  in 
these  pages,  subsequently  became  a clerk  in  Lincoln’s 
law-office  at  Springfield,  and  furnishes  some  excellent 
reminiscences  of  that  interesting  period.  “A  crack- 
brained  attorney  who  lived  in  Springfield,  supported 
mainly  by  the  other  lawyers  of  the  place,  became  in- 
debted, in  the  sum  of  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  to  a 
wealthy  citizen  of  the  county,  a recent  comer.  The 
creditor,  failing  after  repeated  efforts  to  collect  the  amount 
due  him,  came  to  Mr.  Lincoln  and  asked  him  to  bring 
suit.  Lincoln  explained  the  man’s  condition  and  circum- 
stances, and  advised  his  client  to  let  the  matter  rest; 
but  the  creditor’s  temper  was  up,  and  he  insisted  on 
having  suit  brought.  Again  Lincoln  urged  him  to  let  the 
matter  drop,  adding,  ‘You  can  make  nothing  out  of  him, 
and  it  will  cost  you  a good  deal  more  than  the  debt  to 


EYERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  129 


bring  suit.’  The  creditor  was  still  determined  to  have  his 
way,  and  threatened  to  seek  some  other  attorney  who 
would  be  more  willing  to  take  charge  of  the  matter  than 
Lincoln  appeared  to  be.  Lincoln  then  said,  ‘Well,  if 
you  are  determined  that  suit  shall  be  brought,  I will  bring 
it;  but  my  charge  will  be  ten  dollars.’  The  money  was 
paid  him,  and  peremptory  orders  were  given  that  the  suit 
be  brought  that  day.  After  the  client’s  departure, 
Lincoln  went  out  of  the  office,  returning  in  about  an  hour 
with  an  amused  look  on  his  face.  I asked  what  pleased 

him,  and  he  replied,  ‘ I brought  suit  against , and 

then  hunted  him  up,  told  him  what  I had  done,  handed 
him  half  of  the  ten  dollars,  and  we  went  over  to  the 
squire’s  office.  He  confessed  judgment  and  paid  the  bill.’ 
Lincoln  added  that  he  didn’t  see  any  other  way  to  make 
things  satisfactory  for  his  client  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the 
parties. 

“Mr.  Lincoln  had  a heart  that  was  more  a woman’s 
than  a man’s  — filled  to  overflowing  with  sympathy  for 
those  in  trouble,  and  ever  ready  to  relieve  them  by  any 
means  in  his  power.  He  was  ever  thoughtful  of  others’ 
comforts,  even  to  the  forgetting  of  himself.  In  those 
early  days  his  face  wore  a sad  look  when  at  rest  — a look 
that  made  you  feel  that  you  would  like  to  take  from  him 
a part  of  his  burden.  One  who  knew  him  then  and  had 
known  his  career  since  would  be  inclined  to  think  that  he 
already  felt  premonitions  of  the  heavy  burdens  that  his 
broad  shoulders  were  to  bear,  and  the  sorrows  that  his 
kind  heart  would  have  to  endure. 

“Mr.  Lincoln  was  fond  of  playing  chess  and  checkers, 
and  usually  acted  cautiously  upon  the  defensive  until  the 
game  had  reached  a stage  where  aggressive  movements 
were  clearly  justified.  He  was  also  somewhat  fond  of 
ten-pins,  and  occasionally  indulged  in  a game.  Whatever 
may  have  been  his  tastes  in  his  younger  days,  at  this 
period  of  his  life  he  took  no  interest  in  fishing-rod  or  gun. 


130  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


He  was  indifferent  to  dress,  careless  almost  to  a fault  of 
his  personal  appearance.  The  same  indifference  extended 
to  money.  So  long  as  his  wants  were  supplied  — and  they 
were  few  and  simple  — he  seemed  to  have  no  further  use 
for  money,  except  in  the  giving  or  the  lending  of  it,  with 
no  expectation  or  desire  for  its  return,  to  those  whom  he 
thought  needed  it  more  than  he.  Debt  he  abhorred,  and 
under  no  circumstances  would  he  incur  it.  He  was  ab- 
stemious in  every  respect.  I have  heard  him  say  that  he 
did  not  know  the  taste  of  liquor.  At  the  table  he  preferred 
plain  food,  and  a very  little  satisfied  him. 

“Under  no  circumstances  would  he,  as  an  attorney, 
take  a case  he  knew  to  be  wrong.  Every  possible  means 
was  used  to  get  at  the  truth  before  he  would  undertake  a 
case.  More  cases,  by  his  advice,  were  settled  without 
trial  than  he  carried  into  the  courts ; and  that,  too,  without 
charge.  When  on  one  occasion  I suggested  that  he  ought 
to  make  a charge  in  such  cases,  he  laughingly  answered, 
‘They  wouldn’t  want  to  pay  me;  they  don’t  think  I have 
earned  a fee  unless  I take  the  case  into  court  and  make 
a speech  or  two.’  When  trivial  cases  were  brought  to 
him,  such  as  would  most  probably  be  carried  no  farther 
than  a magistrate’s  office,  and  he  could  not  induce  a 
settlement  without  trial,  he  would  generally  refer  them  to 
some  young  attorney,  for  whom  he  would  speak  a good 
word  at  the  same  time.  He  was  ever  kind  and  courteous 
to  these  young  beginners  when  he  was  the  opposing  counsel. 
He  had  a happy  knack  of  setting  them  at  their  ease  and 
encouraging  them.  In  consequence  he  was  the  favorite 
of  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him.  When  his  heart  was 
in  a case  he  was  a powerful  advocate.  I have  heard  more 
than  one  attorney  say  that  it  was  little  use  to  expect  a 
favorable  verdict  in  any  case  where  Lincoln  was  opposing 
counsel,  as  his  simple  statements  of  the  facts  had  more 
weight  with  the  jury  than  those  of  the  witnesses. 

“As  a student  (if  such  a term  could  be  applied  to  Mr. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  131 


Lincoln)  one  who  did  not  know  him  might  have  called  him 
indolent.  He  would  pick  up  a book  and  run  rapidly  over 
the  pages,  pausing  here  and  there.  At  the  end  of  an  hour 
— never,  as  I remember,  more  than  two  or  three  hours  — 
he  would  close  the  book,  stretch  himself  out  on  the  office 
lounge,  and  with  hands  under  his  head  and  eyes  shut  he 
would  digest  the  mental  food  he  had  just  taken. 

“In  the  spring  of  1846,  war  between  the  United  States 
and  Mexico  broke  out.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  opposed  to  the 
war.  He  looked  upon  it  as  unnecessary  and  unjust. 
Volunteers  were  called  for.  John  J.  Hardin,  who  lost  his 
life  in  that  war,  and  Edward  D.  Baker,  who  was  killed  at 
Ball’s  Bluff  during  our  Civil  War  — both  Whigs  — were 
engaged  in  raising  regiments.  Meetings  were  held  and 
speeches  made.  At  one  of  them,  after  Baker  and  others 
had  spoken,  Lincoln,  who  was  in  the  audience,  was  called 
for,  and  the  call  was  repeated  until  at  last  he  ascended  the 
platform.  He  thanked  the  audience  for  the  compliment 
paid  him  in  the  wish  they  had  expressed  to  hear  him  talk, 
and  said  he  would  gladly  make  them  a speech  if  he  had 
anything  to  say.  But  he  was  not  going  into  the  war; 
and  as  he  was  not  going  himself,  he  did  not  feel  like  telling 
others  to  go.  He  would  simply  leave  it  to  each  individual 
to  do  as  he  thought  his  duty  called  for.  After  a few  more 
remarks,  and  a story  ‘with  a nib  to  it,’  he  bowed  himself 
off  the  platform. 

“About  a year  after  this,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  seeking  to  be 
nominated  as  a candidate  for  Congress.  Finding  the 
writing  of  letters  (at  his  dictation)  to  influential  men  in 
the  different  counties  and  even  precincts  of  the  district 
somewhat  burdensome,  I suggested  printing  circulars. 
He  objected,  on  the  ground  that  a printed  letter  would 
not  have  the  same  effect  that  a written  one  would;  the 
latter  had  the  appearance  of  personality,  it  was  more 
flattering  to  the  receiver,  and  would  more  certainly  gain 
his  assistance,  or  at  least  his  good-will.  In  discussing  the 


132  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


probabilities  of  his  nomination,  I remarked  that  there  was 
so  much  unfairness,  if  not  downright  trickery,  used  that 
it  appeared  to  me  almost  useless  to  seek  a nomination 
without  resort  to  similar  means.  His  reply  was:  ‘I  want 
to  be  nominated;  I would  like  to  go  to  Congress;  but  if  I 
cannot  do  so  by  fair  means,  I prefer  to  stay  at  home.’ 
He  was  nominated,  and  in  the  following  fall  was  elected 
by  a majority  over  three  times  as  large  as  the  district 
had  ever  before  given. 

“Mr.  Lincoln,  like  many  others  in  their  callow  days, 
scribbled  verses;  and  so  far  as  I was  capable  of  judging, 
their  quality  was  above  the  average.  It  was  accidentally 
that  I learned  this.  In  arranging  the  books  and  papers 
in  the  office,  I found  two  or  three  quires  of  letter-paper 
stitched  together  in  book  form,  nearly  filled  with  poetical 
effusions  in  Mr.  Lincoln’s  handwriting,  and  evidently 
original.  I looked  through  them  somewhat  hurriedly,  and 
when  Lincoln  came  in  I showed  him  the  manuscript,  asking 
him  if  it  was  his.  His  response  was,  ‘ Where  did  you  find 
it?’  and  rolling  it  up,  he  put  it  in  his  coat-tail  pocket; 
and  I saw  it  no  more.  Afterwards,  in  speaking  of  the 
matter  to  Mr.  Lincoln’s  partner,  he  said,  ‘I  believe  he 
has  at  times  scribbled  some  verses;  but  he  is,  I think, 
somewhat  unwilling  to  have  it  known.’  ” 

Lincoln’s  love  of  poetry  is  further  shown  by  the  following 
incident,  related  by  a gentleman  who  visited  the  old  law- 
office  of  Lincoln  & Herndon,  at  Springfield.  He  says: 
“I  took  up  carelessly,  as  I stood  thinking,  a handsome 
octavo  volume  lying  on  the  office  table.  It  opened  so 
persistently  at  one  place,  as  I handled  it,  that  I looked  to 
see  what  it  was,  and  found  that  somebody  had  thoroughly 
thumbed  the  pages  of  ‘Don  Juan.’  I knew  Mr.  Herndon 
was  not  a man  to  dwell  on  it,  and  it  darted  through  my 
mind  that  perhaps  it  had  been  a favorite  with  Lincoln. 
‘Did  Mr.  Lincoln  ever  read  this  book?’  I said,  hurriedly. 
‘That  book!’  said  Herndon,  looking  up  from  his  writing 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  133 


and  taking  it  out  of  my  hand.  ‘Oh,  yes;  he  read  it  often. 
It  is  the  office  copy.’”  Lincoln  was  so  fond  of  the  book 
that  he  kept  it  ready  to  his  hand. 

Mr.  John  T.  Stuart,  Lincoln’s  first  law-partner,  says 
of  him  that  his  accounts  were  correctly  kept,  but  in  a 
manner  peculiar  to  himself.  Soon  after  their  law-partner- 
ship  was  formed,  Mr.  Stuart  was  elected  to  Congress, 
thereafter  spending  much  of  his  time  in  Washington. 
Lincoln  conducted  the  business  of  the  firm  in  his 
absence.  When  Mr.  Stuart  reached  home,  at  the  close 
of  the  first  session  of  Congress,  Lincoln  proceeded  to  give 
him  an  account  of  the  earnings  of  the  office  during  his 
absence.  The  charges  for  fees  and  entry  of  receipts  of 
money  were  not  in  an  account  book,  but  stowed  away  in 
a drawer  in  Lincoln’s  desk,  among  the  papers  in  each  case. 
He  proceeded  to  lay  the  papers  before  Mr.  Stuart,  taking 
up  each  case  by  itself.  The  account  would  run  in  this 


way: 

Fees  charged  in  this  case $ 

Amount  collected $ 

Stuart’s  half $ 


The  half  that  belonged  to  Mr.  Stuart  would  invariably 
* accompany  the  papers  in  the  case.  Lincoln  had  the 
reputation  of  being  very  moderate  in  his  charges.  He 
was  never  grasping,  and  seemed  incapable  of  believing 
that  his  services  could  be  worth  much  to  anyone. 

One  of  the  most  famous  cases  in  which  Lincoln  engaged 
was  that  of  William  D.  Armstrong,  son  of  Jack  and  Hannah 
Armstrong  of  New  Salem,  the  child  whom  Lincoln  had 
rocked  in  the  cradle  while  Mrs.  Armstrong  attended  to 
other  household  duties.  Jack  Armstrong,  it  will  be 
remembered,  was  an  early  friend  of  Lincoln’s,  whom  he 
had  beaten  in  a wrestling-match  on  his  first  arrival  in 
New  Salem.  He  and  his  wife  had  from  that  time  treated 
the  youth  with  the  utmost  kindness,  giving  him  a home 
when  he  was  out  of  work,  and  showing  him  every  kindness 


134  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


it  was  in  their  power  to  offer.  Lincoln  never  forgot  his 
debt  of  gratitude  to  them;  and  when  Hannah,  now  a 
widow,  wrote  to  him  of  the  peril  her  boy  was  in,  and 
besought  him  to  help  them  in  their  extremity,  he  replied 
promptly  that  he  would  do  what  he  could.  The  circum- 
stances were  these:  “In  the  summer  of  1857,  at  a camp- 
meeting in  Mason  County,  one  Metzgar  was  most  brutally 
murdered.  The  affray  took  place  about  half  a mile  from 
the  place  of  worship,  near  some  wagons  loaded  with  liquor 
and  provisions.  Two  men,  James  H.  Norris  and  William 
D.  Armstrong,  were  indicted  for  the  crime.  Norris  was 
tried  in  Mason  County,  convicted  of  manslaughter,  and 
sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  for  a term  of  eight  years. 
The  popular  feeling  being  very  high  against  Armstrong  in 
Mason  County,  he  took  a change  of  venue  to  Cass  County, 
and  was  there  tried  (at  Beardstown)  in  the  spring  of  1858. 
Hitherto  Armstrong  had  had  the  services  of  two  able 
counsellors;  but  now  their  efforts  were  supplemented  by 
those  of  a most  determined  and  zealous  volunteer.  The 
case  was  so  clear  against  the  accused  that  defense  seemed 
almost  useless.  The  strongest  evidence  was  that  of  a 
man  who  swore  that  at  eleven  o’clock  at  night  he  saw 
Armstrong  strike  the  deceased  on  the  head;  that  the 
moon  was  shining  brightly,  and  was  nearly  full;  and  that 
its  position  in  the  sky  was  just  about  that  of  the  sun  at 
ten  o’clock  in  the  morning,  and  by  it  he  saw  Armstrong 
give  the  mortal  blow.”  This  was  fatal,  unless  the  effect 
could  be  broken  by  contradiction  or  impeachment.  Lin- 
coln quietly  looked  up  an  almanac,  and  found  that  at  the 
time  this  witness  declared  the  moon  to  have  been  shin- 
ing with  full  light  there  was  no  moon  at  all.  Lincoln 
made  the  closing  argument.  “At  first,”  says  Mr.  Walker, 
one  of  the  counsel  associated  with  him,  “he  spoke  very 
slowly  and  carefully,  reviewing  the  testimony  and  pointing 
out  its  contradictions,  discrepancies  and  impossibilities. 
When  he  had  thus  prepared  the  way,  he  called  for  an 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  135 


almanac,  and  showed  that  at  the  hour  at  which  the 
principal  witness  swore  he  had  seen,  by  the  light  of  the 
full  moon,  the  mortal  blow  given,  there  was  no  moon.  The 
last  fifteen  minutes  of  his  speech  were  as  eloquent  as  I 
ever  heard;  and  such  were  the  power  and  earnestness  with 
which  he  spoke  to  that  jury,  that  all  sat  as  if  entranced, 
and,  when  he  was  through,  found  relief  in  a gush  of  tears.” 
Said  one  of  the  prosecutors:  “He  took  the  jury  by  storm. 
There  were  tears  in  Mr.  Lincoln’s  eyes  while  he  spoke, 
but  they  were  genuine.  His  sympathies  were  fully  en- 
listed in  favor  of  the  young  man,  and  his  terrible  sincerity 
could  not  help  but  arouse  the  same  passion  in  the  jury. 
I have  said  a hundred  times  that  it  was  Lincoln’s  speech 
that  saved  that  man  from  the  gallows.”  “Armstrong 
was  not  cleared  by  any  want  of  testimony  against  him, 
but  by  the  irresistible  appeal  of  Mr.  Lincoln  in  his  favor,” 
says  Mr.  Shaw,  one  of  the  associates  in  the  prosecution. 
His  mother,  who  sat  near  during  Lincoln’s  appeal,  says: 
“He  told  the  stories  about  our  first  acquaintance,  and 
what  I did  for  him  and  how  I did  it.  Lincoln  said  to 
me,  ‘Hannah,  your  son  will  be  cleared  before  sundown.’ 
He  and  the  other  lawyers  addressed  the  jury,  and  closed 
the  case.  I went  down  to  Thompson’s  pasture.  Stator 
came  to  me  and  told  me  that  my  son  was  cleared  and  a 
free  man.  I went  up  to  the  court-house;  the  jury  shook 
hands  with  me,  so  did  the  court,  so  did  Lincoln.  We 
were  all  affected,  and  tears  were  in  Lincoln’s  eyes.  He 
then  remarked  to  me,  ‘Hannah,  what  did  I tell  you?  I 
pray  to  God  that  William  may  be  a good  boy  hereafter; 
that  this  lesson  may  prove  in  the  end  a good  lesson  to  him 
and  to  all.’  After  the  trial  was  over,  Lincoln  came  down 
to  where  I was  in  Beardstown.  I asked  him  what  he 
charged  me;  told  him  I was  poor.  He  said,  ‘Why, 
Hannah,  I shan’t  charge  you  a cent  — never.  Anything 
I can  do  for  you  I will  do  willingly  and  without  charges.’ 
He  wrote  to  me  about  some  land  which  some  men  were 


136  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


trying  to  get  from  me,  and  said,  ‘Hannah,  they  can’t  get 
your  land.  Let  them  try  it  in  the  Circuit  Court,  and  then 
you  appeal  it.  Bring  it  to  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
Herndon  and  I will  attend  to  it  for  nothing.’” 

Lincoln  regarded  himself  not  only  as  the  legal  adviser  of 
unfortunate  people,  but  as  their  friend  and  protector; 
and  he  would  never  press  them  for  pay  for  his  services. 
A client  named  Cogdal  was  unfortunate  in  business,  and 
gave  Lincoln  a note  in  payment  of  legal  fees.  Soon  after- 
wards he  met  with  an  accident  by  which  he  lost  a hand. 
Meeting  Lincoln  some  time  after,  on  the  steps  of  the 
State  House,  the  kind  lawyer  asked  him  how  he  was  get- 
ting along.  “Badly  enough,”  replied  Mr.  Cogdal.  “I 
am  both  broken  up  in  business  and  crippled.”  Then  he 
added,  “I  have  been  thinking  about  that  note  of  yours.” 
Lincoln,  who  had  probably  known  all  about  Mr.  Cogdal’s 
troubles,  and  had  prepared  himself  for  the  meeting,  took 
out  his  pocket-book,  and  saying,  with  a laugh,  “Well  you 
needn’t  think  any  more  about  it,”  handed  him  the  note. 
Mr.  Cogdal  protesting,  Lincoln  said,  “Even  if  you  had 
the  money,  I would  not  take  it,”  and  hurried  away. 

Mr.  G.  L.  Austin  thus  describes  an  incident  of  Lincoln’s 
career  at  the  bar:  “Mr.  Lincoln  was  once  associated  with 
Mr.  Leonard  Swett  in  defending  a man  accused  of  murder. 
He  listened  to  the  testimony  which  witness  after  witness 
gave  against  his  client,  until  his  honest  heart  could  stand 
it  no  longer;  then,  turning  to  his  associate,  he  said: 
‘Swett,  the  man  is  guilty;  you  defend  him;  I can’t.’ 
Swett  did  defend  him,  and  the  man  was  acquitted.  When 
proffered  his  share  of  the  large  fee,  Lincoln  most  emphati- 
cally declined  it,  on  the  ground  that  ‘all  of  it  belonged  to 
Mr.  Swett,  whose  ardor  and  eloquence  saved  a guilty  man 
from  justice.’  ” 

At  a term  of  court  in  Logan  County,  a man  named 
Hoblit  had  brought  suit  against  a man  named  Farmer. 
The  suit  had  been  appealed  from  a justice  of  the  peace,  and 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  137 


Lincoln  knew  nothing  of  it  until  he  was  retained  by  Hoblit 
to  try  the  case  in  the  Circuit  Court.  G.  A.  Gridley, 
then  of  Bloomington,  appeared  for  the  defendant.  Judge 
Treat,  afterwards  on  the  United  States  bench,  was  the 
presiding  judge  at  the  trial.  Lincoln’s  client  went  upon 
the  witness  stand  and  testified  to  the  account  he  had 
against  the  defendant,  gave  the  amount  due  after  allowing 
all  credits  and  set-offs,  and  swore  positively  that  it  had 
not  been  paid.  The  attorney  for  the  defendant  simply 
produced  a receipt  in  full,  signed  by  Hoblit  prior  to  the 
beginning  of  the  case.  Hoblit  had  to  admit  the  signing  of 
the  receipt,  but  told  Lincoln  he  “supposed  the  cuss  had 
lost  it.”  Lincoln  at  once  arose  and  left  the  court-x-oom. 
The  Judge  told  the  parties  to  proceed  with  the  case;  and 
Lincoln  not  appearing.  Judge  Treat  directed  a bailiff  to 
go  to  the  hotel  and  call  him.  The  bailiff  ran  across  the 
street  to  the  hotel,  and  found  Lincoln  sitting  in  the  office 
with  his  feet  on  the  stove,  apparently  in  a deep  study, 
when  he  interrupted  him  with:  “Mr.  Lincoln,  the  Judge 
wants  you.”  “Oh,  does  he?”  replied  Lincoln.  “Well, 
you  go  back  and  tell  the  Judge  I cannot  come.  Tell 
him  I have  to  wash  my  hands.”  The  bailiff  returned 
with  the  message,  and  Lincoln’s  client  suffered  a non-suit. 
It  was  Lincoln’s  way  of  saying  he  wanted  nothing  more 
to  do  with  such  a case. 

Lincoln  would  never  advise  clients  into  unwise  or 
unjust  lawsuits.  He  would  always  sacrifice  his  own 
interests,  and  refuse  a retainer,  rather  than  be  a party 
to  a case  which  did  not  command  the  approval  of  his 
sense  of  justice.  He  was  once  waited  upon  by  a lady  who 
held  a real-estate  claim  which  she  desired  to  have  him 
prosecute,  putting  into  his  hands,  with  the  necessary 
papers,  a check  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  as  a 
retaining  fee.  Lincoln  said  he  would  look  the  case  over, 
and  asked  her  to  call  again  the  next  day.  Upon  presenting 
herself,  he  told  her  that  he  had  gone  through  the  papers 


138  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


very  carefully,  and  was  obliged  to  tell  her  frankly  that 
there  was  “not  a peg”  to  hang  her  claim  upon,  and  he 
could  not  conscientiously  advise  her  to  bring  an  action. 
The  lady  was  satisfied,  and,  thanking  him,  rose  to  go. 
“Wait,”  said  Lincoln,  fumbling  in  his  vest  pocket;  “here 
is  the  check  you  left  with  me.”  “But,  Mr.  Lincoln,” 
returned  the  lady,  “I  think  you  have  earned  that.”  “No, 
no,”  he  responded,  handing  it  back  to  her;  “that  would 
not  be  right.  I can’t  take  pay  for  doing  my  duty.” 
To  a would-be  client  who  had  carefully  stated  his  case, 
to  which  Lincoln  had  listened  with  the  closest  attention, 
he  said:  “Yes,  there  is  no  reasonable  doubt  that  I can 
gain  your  case  for  you.  I can  set  a whole  neighborhood 
at  loggerheads;  I can  distress  a widowed  mother  and  her 
six  fatherless  children,  and  thereby  get  for  you  six  hundred 
dollars,  which  rightfully  belongs,  it  appears  to  me,  as 
much  to  the  woman  and  her  children  as  it  does  to  you. 
You  must  remember  that  some  things  that  are  legally 
right  are  not  morally  right.  I shall  not  take  your  case, 
but  will  give  you  a little  advice,  for  which  I will  charge 
you  nothing.  You  seem  to  be  a sprightly,  energetic  man. 
I would  advise  you  to  try  your  hand  at  making  six  hundred 
dollars  some  other  way.” 

Senator  McDonald  states  that  he  saw  a jury  trial  in 
Illinois,  at  which  Lincoln  defended  an  old  man  charged 
with  assault  and  battery.  No  blood  had  been  spilled, 
but  there  was  malice  in  the  prosecution,  and  the  chief 
witness  was  eager  to  make  the  most  of  it.  On  cross- 
examination,  Lincoln  “gave  him  rope”  and  drew  him  out; 
asked  him  how  long  the  fight  lasted  and  how  much  ground 
it  covered.  The  witness  thought  the  fight  must  have 
lasted  half  an  hour  and  covered  an  acre  of  ground.  Lin- 
coln called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  nobody  was  hurt, 
and  then  with  an  inimitable  air  asked  him  if  he  didn’t 
think  it  was  “a  mighty  small  crop  for  an  acre  of  ground.” 
The  jury  rejected  the  prosecution’s  claim. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  139 


Many  of  the  stories  told  of  Lincoln  at  the  bar  are  ex- 
tremely ridiculous,  and  represent  him  in  anything  but  a 
dignified  light.  But  they  are  a part  of  the  character  of  the 
man,  and  should  be  given  wherever  there  is  reason  to 
suppose  they  are  genuine.  Besides,  they  are  usually  full 
of  a humor  that  is  irresistible.  Such  an  incident  is  given 
by  the  Hon.  Lawrence  Weldon,  Lincoln’s  old  friend  and 
legal  associate  in  Illinois.  “I  can  see  him  now,”  says 
Judge  Weldon,  “through  the  decaying  memories  of  thirty 
years,  standing  in  the  corner  of  the  old  court-room,  and 
as  I approached  him  with  a paper  I did  not  understand, 
he  said:  ‘Wait  until  I fix  this  plug  for  my  g alius,  and  I 
will  pitch  into  that  like  a dog  at  a root.’  While  speaking, 
he  was  busily  engaged  in  trying  to  connect  his  suspender 
with  his  trousers  by  making  a ‘plug’  perform  the  function 
of  a button.  Lincoln  liked  old-fashioned  words,  and 
never  failed  to  use  them  if  they  could  be  sustained  as 
proper.  He  was  probably  accustomed  to  say  ‘gallows,’ 
and  he  never  adopted  the  modern  word  ‘suspender.’” 

On  a certain  occasion  Lincoln  appeared  at  the  trial  of 
a case  in  which  his  friend  Judge  Logan  was  his  opponent. 
It  was  a suit  between  two  farmers  who  had  had  a disagree- 
ment over  a horse-trade.  On  the  day  of  the  trial,  Mr. 
Logan,  having  bought  a new  shirt,  open  in  the  back,  with 
a huge  standing  collar,  dressed  himself  in  extreme  haste, 
and  put  on  the  shirt  with  the  bosom  at  the  back,  a linen 
coat  concealing  the  blunder.  He  dazed  the  jury  with  his 
knowledge  of  “horse  points”;  and  as  the  day  was  sultry, 
took  off  his  coat  and  “summed”  up  in  his  shirt-sleeves. 
Lincoln,  sitting  behind  him,  took  in  the  situation,  and 
when  his  turn  came  he  remarked  to  the  jury : “ Gentlemen, 
Mr.  Logan  has  been  trying  for  over  an  hour  to  make  you 
believe  he  knows  more  about  a horse  than  these  honest 
old  farmers  who  are  witnesses.  He  has  quoted  largely 
from  his  ‘horse  doctor,’  and  now,  gentlemen,  I submit  to 
you,”  (here  he  lifted  Logan  out  of  his  chair,  and  turned 


140  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


him  with  his  back  to  the  jury  and  the  crowd,  at  the  same 
time  flapping  up  the  enormous  standing  collar)  “what 
dependence  can  you  place  in  his  horse  knowledge,  when 
he  has  not  sense  enough  to  put  on  his  shirt?”  Roars  of 
laughter  greeted  this  exposition,  and  the  verdict  was  given 
to  Lincoln. 

The  preceding  incident  leads  to  another,  in  which 
Lincoln  himself  figures  as  a horse-trader.  The  scene  is  a 
very  humorous  one;  and,  as  usual  in  an  encounter  of  wit, 
Lincoln  came  out  ahead.  He  and  a certain  Judge  once 
got  to  bantering  each  other  about  trading  horses;  and  it 
was  agreed  that  the  next  morning  at  nine  o’clock  they 
should  make  a trade,  the  horses  to  be  unseen  up  to  that 
hour,  — and  no  backing  out,  under  a forfeit  of  twenty-five 
dollars.  At  the  hour  appointed  the  Judge  came  up, 
leading  the  sorriest  looking  specimen  of  a nag  ever  seen  in 
those  parts.  In  a few  minutes  Lincoln  was  seen  approach- 
ing with  a wooden  saw-horse  upon  his  shoulders.  Great 
were  the  shouts  and  the  laughter  of  the  crowd;  and  these 
increased,  when  Lincoln,  surveying  the  Judge’s  animal, 
set  down  his  saw-horse,  and  exclaimed:  “Well,  Judge, 
this  is  the  first  time  I ever  got  the  worst  of  it  in  a 
horse-trade!” 

There  has  been  much  discussion  as  to  Lincoln’s  rank  and 
ability  as  a lawyer.  Opinion  among  his  contemporaries 
seems  to  have  been  somewhat  divided.  Mr.  Herndon 
felt  warranted  in  saying  that  he  was  at  the  same  time 
a very  great  and  a very  insignificant  lawyer.  His 
mind  was  logical  and  direct.  Generalities  and  platitudes 
had  no  charm  for  him.  He  had  the  ability  to  seize  the 
strong  points  of  a case  and  present  them  with  clearness 
and  compactness.  His  power  of  comparison  was  great. 
He  rarely  failed  in  a legal  discussion  to  use  this  mode  of 
reasoning.  Yet  he  knew  practically  nothing  of  the  rules 
of  evidence,  of  pleading,  of  practice,  as  laid  down  in  the 
text-books,  and  seemed  to  care  little  about  them.  Some- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  141 


times  he  lost  cases  of  the  plainest  justice  which  the  most 
inexperienced  lawyer  could  have  won.  He  looked  upon 
two  things  as  essential  to  his  success  in  a case.  One  was 
time;  he  was  slow  in  reasoning  and  slow  in  speech.  The 
other  was  confidence  that  the  cause  he  represented  was 
just.  “If  either  of  these  were  lacking,”  said  Mr.  Herndon, 
“Lincoln  was  the  weakest  man  at  the  bar.  When  it  fell 
to  him  to  address  the  jury  he  often  relied  absolutely  on 
the  inspiration  of  the  moment,  — but  he  seldom  failed  to 
carry  his  point.” 

Among  the  great  number  of  opinions  of  Lincoln’s  rank 
as  a lawyer,  expressed  by  his  professional  brethren,  a few 
may  properly  be  given  in  closing  this  chapter,  which 
is  devoted  chiefly  to  Mr.  Lincoln’s  professional  career. 
First  we  may  quote  the  brief  but  emphatic  words  of  the 
distinguished  jurist.  Judge  Sidney  Breese,  Chief  Justice  of 
Illinois,  who  said:  “For  my  single  self,  I have  for  a quarter 
of  a century  regarded  Mr.  Lincoln  as  the  finest  lawyer  I 
ever  knew,  and  of  a professional  bearing  so  high-toned  and 
honorable,  as  justly,  and  without  derogating  from  the 
claims  of  others,  entitling  him  to  be  presented  to  the 
profession  as  a model  well  worthy  of  the  closest  imitation.” 

Another  distinguished  Chief  Justice,  Hon.  John  Dean 
Caton,  says:  “In  1840  or  1841,  I met  Mr.  Lincoln,  and 
was  for  the  first  time  associated  with  him  in  a professional 
way.  We  attended  the  Circuit  Court  at  Pontiac,  Judge 
Treat  presiding,  where  we  wTere  both  engaged  in  the 
defense  of  a man  by  the  name  of  Lavinia.  That  was  the 
first  and  only  time  I was  associated  with  him  at  the  bar. 
He  practiced  in  a circuit  that  was  beyond  the  one  in  which 
I practiced,  and  consequently  we  were  not  brought  together 
much  in  the  practice  of  the  law.  He  stood  well  at  the  bar 
from  the  beginning.  I was  a younger  man,  but  an  older 
lawyer.  He  was  not  admitted  to  the  bar  till  after  I was. 
I was  not  closely  connected  with  him.  Indeed,  I did  not 
meet  him  often,  professionally,  until  I went  on  the  bench 


142  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


in  1842;  and  he  was  then  in  full  practice  before  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  continued  to  practice  there  regularly 
at  every  term  until  he  was  elected  President.  Mr.  Lincoln 
understood  the  relations  of  things,  and  hence  his  deduc- 
tions were  rarely  wrong  from  any  given  state  of  facts.  So 
he  applied  the  principles  of  law  to  the  transactions  of  men 
with  great  clearness  and  precision.  He  was  a close 
reasoner.  He  reasoned  by  analogy,  and  enforced  his 
views  by  apt  illustration.  His  mode  of  speaking  was 
generally  of  a plain  and  unimpassioned  character,  and  yet 
he  was  the  author  of  some  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
eloquent  passages  in  our  language,  which,  if  collected, 
would  form  a valuable  contribution  to  American  literature. 
The  most  punctilious  honor  ever  marked  his  professional 
and  private  life.” 

The  Hon.  Thomas  Drummond,  for  many  years  Judge 
of  the  United  States  District  Court  at  Chicago,  said: 
“It  is  not  necessary  to  claim  for  Mr.  Lincoln  attributes  or 
qualities  which  he  did  not  possess.  He  had  enough  to 
entitle  him  to  the  love  and  respect  and  esteem  of  all  who 
knew  him.  He  was  not  skilled  in  the  learning  of  the 
schools,  and  his  knowledge  of  the  law  was  acquired  almost 
entirely  by  his  own  unaided  study  and  by  the  practice  of 
his  profession.  Nature  gave  him  great  clearness  and 
acuteness  of  intellect  and  a vast  fund  of  common-sense; 
and  as  a consequence  of  these  he  had  much  sagacity  in 
judging  of  the  motives  and  springs  of  human  conduct. 
With  a voice  by  no  means  pleasing,  and,  indeed,  when 
excited,  in  its  shrill  tones  sometimes  almost  disagreeable; 
without  any  of  the  personal  graces  of  the  orator;  without 
much  in  the  outward  man  indicating  superiority  of  in- 
tellect; without  great  quickness  of  perception,  — still, 
his  mind  was  so  vigorous,  his  comprehension  so  exact 
and  clear,  and  his  judgments  so  sure,  that  he  easily 
mastered  the  intricacies  of  his  profession,  and  became  one 
of  the  ablest  reasoners  and  most  impressive  speakers  at 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  143 


our  bar.  With  a probity  of  character  known  to  all, 
with  an  intuitive  insight  into  the  human  heart,  with  a 
clearness  of  statement  which  was  itself  an  argument, 
with  an  uncommon  power  and  facility  of  illustration,  often, 
it  is  true,  of  a plain  and  homely  kind,  and  with  that  sin- 
cerity and  earnestness  of  manner  to  carry  conviction,  he 
was  perhaps  one  of  the  most  successful  jury  lawyers  we 
have  ever  had  in  the  State.  He  always  tried  a case  fairly 
and  honestly.  He  never  intentionally  misrepresented  the 
testimony  of  a witness  or  the  arguments  of  an  opponent. 
He  met  both  squarely,  and,  if  he  could  not  explain  the  one 
or  answer  the  other,  substantially  admitted  it.  He  never 
misstated  the  law  according  to  his  own  intelligent  view  of 
it.  Such  was  the  transparent  candor  and  integrity  of  his 
nature  that  he  could  not  well  or  strongly  argue  a side  or  a 
cause  that  he  thought  wrong.  Of  course,  he  felt  it  his 
duty  to  say  what  could  be  said,  and  to  leave  the  decision 
to  others ; but  there  could  be  seen  in  such  cases  the  inward 
struggle  in  his  ora  mind.  In  trying  a cause  he  might 
occasionally  dwell  too  long  or  give  too  much  importance 
to  an  inconsiderable  point;  but  this  was  the  exception, 
and  generally  he  went  straight  to  the  citadel  of  a cause  or 
a question,  and  struck  home  there,  knowing  if  that  were 
won  the  outwork  would  necessarily  fall.  He  could  hardly 
be  called  very  learned  in  his  profession,  and  yet  he  rarely 
tried  a cause  without  fully  understanding  the  law  appli- 
cable to  it.  I have  no  hesitation  in  saying  he  was  one  of 
the  ablest  lawyers  I have  ever  known.  If  he  was  forcible 
before  the  jury  he  was  equally  so  with  the  court.  He 
detected  with  unerring  sagacity  the  marked  points  of  his 
opponents’  arguments,  and  pressed  his  ora  views  with 
overwhelming  force.  His  efforts  were  quite  unequal,  and 
it  may  have  been  that  he  would  not  on  some  occasions 
strike  one  as  at  all  remarkable;  but  let  him  be  thoroughly 
aroused,  let  him  feel  that  he  was  right  and  that  some  great 
principle  was  involved  in  his  case,  and  he  would  come  out 


144  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


with  an  earnestness  of  conviction,  a power  of  argument, 
and  a wealth  of  illustration,  that  I have  never  seen  sur- 
passed. . . . Simple  in  his  habits,  without  pretensions  of 
any  kind,  and  distrustful  of  himself,  he  was  willing  to 
yield  precedence  and  place  to  others,  when  he  ought- to 
have  claimed  them  for  himself.  He  rarely,  if  ever,  sought 
office  except  at  the  urgent  solicitations  of  his  friends. 
In  substantiation  of  this,  I may  be  permitted  to  relate  an 
incident  which  now  occurs  to  me.  Prior  to  his  nomination 
for  the  Presidency,  and,  indeed,  when  his  name  was  first 
mentioned  in  connection  with  that  high  office,  I broached 
the  subject  upon  the  occasion  of  meeting  him  here.  His 
response  was,  ‘I  hope  they  will  select  some  abler  man 
than  myself.’” 

Mr.  C.  S.  Parks,  a lawyer  associated  with  Lincoln 
for  some  years,  furnishes  the  following  testimony  concern- 
ing his  more  prominent  qualities:  “I  have  often  said  that 
for  a man  who  was  for  a quarter  of  a century  both  a lawyer 
and  a politician  he  was  the  most  honest  man  I ever  knew. 
He  was  not  only  morally  honest,  but  intellectually  so. 
He  could  not  reason  falsely;  if  he  attempted  it,  he  failed. 
In  politics  he  would  never  try  to  mislead.  At  the  bar, 
when  he  thought  he  was  wrong,  he  was  the  weakest  lawyer 
I ever  saw.” 

Hon.  David  Davis,  afterwards  Associate  Justice  U.  S. 
Supreme  Court  and  U.  S.  Senator,  presided  over  the 
Eighth  Judicial  Circuit  of  Illinois  during  the  remaining 
years  of  Lincoln’s  practice  at  the  bar.  He  was  united  to 
Lincoln  in  close  bonds  of  friendship,  and  year  after  year 
travelled  with  him  over  the  circuit,  put  up  with  him  at  the 
same  hotels,  and  often  occupied  the  same  room  with  him. 
“This  simple  life,”  says  Judge  Davis,  “Mr.  Lincoln  loved, 
preferring  it  to  the  practice  of  the  law  in  the  city.  In  all 
the  elements  that  constitute  the  great  lawyer,  he  had  few 
equals.  He  seized  the  strong  points  of  a cause,  and 
presented  them  with  clearness  and  great  compactness. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  145 


He  read  law-books  but  little,  except  when  the  cause  in 
hand  made  it  necessary;  yet  he  was  unusually  self-reliant, 
depending  on  his  own  resources,  and  rarely  consulting  his 
brother  lawyers  either  on  the  management  of  his  case  or 
the  legal  questions  involved.  He  was  the  fairest  and 
most  accommodating  of  practitioners,  granting  all  favors 
which  he  could  do  consistently  with  his  duty  to  his  client, 
and  rarely  availing  himself  of  an  unwary  oversight  of  his 
adversary.  He  hated  wrong  and  oppression  everywhere, 
and  many  a man,  whose  fraudulent  conduct  was  under- 
going review  in  a court  of  justice,  has  withered  under  his 
terrific  indignation  and  rebuke.” 

Mr.  Speed  says:  “As  a lawyer,  after  his  first  year  he 
was  acknowledged  to  be  among  the  best  in  the  State. 
His  analytical  powers  were  marvellous.  He  always 
resolved  every  question  into  its  primary  elements,  and 
gave  up  every  point  on  his  own  side  that  did  not  seem  to  be 
invulnerable.  One  would  think,  to  hear  him  present  his 
case  in  the  court,  he  was  giving  his  case  away.  He  would 
concede  point  after  point  to  his  adversary.  But  he  always 
reserved  a point  upon  which  he  claimed  a decision  in  his 
favor,  and  his  concessions  magnified  the  strength  of  his 
claim.  He  rarely  failed  in  gaining  his  cases  in  court.” 

The  special  characteristics  of  Lincoln’s  practice  at 
the  bar  are  thus  ably  summed  up:  “He  did  not  make  a 
specialty  of  criminal  cases,  but  was  engaged  frequently  in 
them.  He  could  not  be  called  a great  lawyer,  measured 
by  the  extent  of  his  acquirement  of  legal  knowledge;  he 
was  not  an  encyclopaedia  of  cases;  but  in  the  clear  percep- 
tion of  legal  principles,  with  natural  capacity  to  apply 
them,  he  had  great  ability.  He  was  not  a case  lawyer, 
but  a lawyer  who  dealt  in  the  deep  philosophy  of  the  law. 
He  always  knew  the  cases  which  might  be  quoted  as 
absolute  authority,  but  beyond  that  he  contented  himself 
in  the  application  and  discussion  of  general  principles. 
In  the  trial  of  a case  he  moved  cautiously.  He  never 


146  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


examined  or  cross-examined  a witness  to  the  detriment  of 
his  side.  If  the  witness  told  the  truth,  he  was  safe  from 
his  attacks;  but  woe  betide  the  unlucky  and  dishonest 
individual  who  suppressed  the  truth  or  colored  it  against 
Mr.  Lincoln’s  side.  His  speeches  to  the  jury  were  very 
effective  specimens  of  forensic  oratory.  He  talked  the 
vocabulary  of  the  people,  and  the  jury  understood  every 
point  he  made  and  every  thought  he  uttered.  I never 
saw  him  when  I thought  he  was  trying  to  make  an  effort 
for  the  sake  of  mere  display;  but  his  imagination  was 
simple  and  pure  in  the  richest  gems  of  true  eloquence. 
He  constructed  short  sentences  of  small  words,  and  never 
wearied  the  minds  of  the  jury  by  mazes  of  elaboration.” 


CHAPTER  IX 


Lincoln  and  Slavery  — The  Issue  Becoming  More  Sharply  Defined  — 
Resistance  to  the  Spread  of  Slavery  — Views  Expressed  by  Lincoln 
in  1850  — - His  Mind  Made  Up  — Lincoln  as  a Party  Leader  — 
The  Kansas  Struggle  — Crossing  Swords  with  Douglas  — A 
Notable  Speech  by  Lincoln  — Advice  to  Kansas  Belligerents  — 
Honor  in  Politics  — Anecdote  of  Lincoln  and  Yates  — Contest 
for  the  U.  S.  Senate  in  1855  — Lincoln’s  Defeat  — Sketched  by 
Members  of  the  Legislature. 


T the  death  of  Henry  Clay,  in  June,  1852,  Lincoln 


il  was  invited  to  deliver  a eulogy  on  Clay’s  life  and 
character  before  the  citizens  of  Springfield.  He  complied 
with  the  request  on  the  16th  of  July.  The  same  season 
he  made  a speech  before  the  Scott  Club  of  Springfield,  in 
reply  to  the  addresses  with  which  Douglas  had  opened 
his  extended  campaign  of  that  summer,  at  Richmond, 
Virginia.  Except  on  these  two  occasions,  Lincoln  took 
but  little  part  in  politics  until  the  passage  of  the  Nebraska 
Bill  by  Congress  in  1854.  The  enactment  of  this  measure 
impelled  him  to  take  a firmer  stand  upon  the  question  of 
slavery  than  he  had  yet  assumed.  He  had  been  opposed 
to  the  institution  on  grounds  of  sentiment  since  his 
boyhood;  now  he  determined  to  fight  it  from  principle. 
Mr.  Herndon  states  that  Lincoln  really  became  an  anti- 
slavery  man  in  1831,  during  his  visit  to  New  Orleans, 
where  he  was  deeply  affected  by  the  horrors  of  the  traffic 
in  human  beings.  On  one  occasion  he  saw  a slave,  a 
beautiful  mulatto  girl,  sold  at  auction.  She  was  felt 
over,  pinched,  and  trotted  around  to  show  bidders  she 
was  sound.  Lincoln  walked  away  from  the  scene  with  a 
feeling  of  deep  abhorrence.  He  said  to  John  Hanks,  “If 
I ever  get  a chance  to  hit  that  institution,  John,  I’ll  hit  it 


148  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


hard 1”  Again,  in  the  summer  of  1841,  he  was  painfully 
impressed  by  a scene  witnessed  during  his  journey  home 
from  Kentucky,  described  in  a letter  written  at  the  time 
to  the  sister  of  his  friend  Speed,  in  which  he  says:  “A 
fine  example  was  presented  on  board  the  boat  for  con- 
templating the  effect  of  conditions  upon  human  happi- 
ness. A man  had  purchased  twelve  negroes  in  different 
parts  of  Kentucky,  and  was  taking  them  to  a farm  in  the 
South.  They  were  chained  six  and  six  together;  a small 
iron  clevis  was  around  the  left  wrist  of  each,  and  this  was 
fastened  to  the  main  chain  by  a shorter  one,  at  a con- 
venient distance  from  the  others,  so  that  the  negroes 
were  strung  together  like  so  many  fish  upon  a trot-line. 
In  this  condition  they  were  being  separated  forever  from 
the  scenes  of  their  childhood,  their  friends,  their  fathers 
and  mothers,  brothers  and  sisters,  and  many  of  them 
from  their  wives  and  children,  and  going  into  perpetual 
slavery.” 

Judge  Gillespie  records  a conversation  which  he  had 
with  Lincoln  in  1850  on  the  slavery  question,  remarking 
by  way  of  introduction  that  the  subject  of  slavery  was  the 
only  one  on  which  he  (Lincoln)  was  apt  to  become  excited. 
“ I recollect  meeting  him  once  at  Shelby ville,”  says  Judge 
Gillespie,  “when  he  remarked  that  something  must  be 
done  or  slavery  would  overrun  the  whole  country.  He 
said  there  were  about  six  hundred  thousand  non-slave- 
holding whites  in  Kentucky  to  about  thirty-three  thou- 
sand slaveholders;  that  in  the  convention  then  recently 
held  it  was  expected  that  the  delegates  would  represent 
these  classes  about  in  proportion  to  their  respective  num- 
bers; but  when  the  convention  assembled,  there  was  not 
a single  representative  of  the  non-slaveholding  class; 
everyone  was  in  the  interest  of  the  slaveholders;  ‘and,’ 
said  he,  ‘the  thing  is  spreading  like  wildfire  over  the 
country.  In  a few  years  we  will  be  ready  to  accept  the 
institution  in  Illinois,  and  the  whole  country  will  adopt 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  149 


it.’  I asked  him  to  what  he  attributed  the  change  that 
was  going  on  in  public  opinion.  He  said  he  had  recently 
put  that  question  to  a Kentuckian,  who  answered  by 
saying,  ‘You  might  have  any  amount  of  land,  money  in 
your  pocket,  or  bank-stock,  and  while  travelling  around 
nobody  would  be  any  wiser;  but  if  you  had  a darkey 
trudging  at  your  heels,  everybody  would  see  him  and 
know  that  you  owned  a slave.  It  is  the  most  ostentatious 
way  of  displaying  property  in  the  world;  if  a young  man 
goes  courting,  the  only  inquiry  is  as  to  how  many  negroes 
he  owns.’  The  love  for  slave  property  was  swallowing 
up  every  other  mercenary  possession.  Its  ownership 
not  only  betokened  the  possession  of  wealth,  but  indi- 
cated the  gentleman  of  leisure  who  scorned  labor.  These 
things  Mr.  Lincoln  regarded  as  highly  pernicious  to  the 
thoughtless  and  giddy  young  men  who  were  too  much 
inclined  to  look  upon  work  as  vulgar  and  ungentlemanly. 
He  was  much  excited,  and  said  with  great  earnestness 
that  this  spirit  ought  to  be  met,  and  if  possible  checked; 
that  slavery  was  a great  and  crying  injustice,  an  enormous 
national  crime,  and  we  could  not  expect  to  escape  punish- 
ment for  it.  I asked  him  how  he  would  proceed  in  his 
efforts  to  check  the  spread  of  slavery.  He  confessed  he 
did  not  see  his  way  clearly;  but  I think  he  made  up  his 
mind  that  from  that  time  he  would  oppose  slavery  actively. 
I know  that  Lincoln  always  contended  that  no  man  had 
any  right,  other  than  what  mere  brute  force  gave  him, 
to  hold  a slave.  He  used  to  say  it  was  singular  that  the 
courts  would  hold  that  a man  never  lost  his  right  to 
property  that  had  been  stolen  from  him,  but  that  he 
instantly  lost  his  right  to  himself  if  he  was  stolen.  Lincoln 
always  contended  that  the  cheapest  way  of  getting  rid 
of  slavery  was  for  the  nation  to  buy  the  slaves  and  set 
them  free.” 

While  in  Congress,  Lincoln  had  declared  himself 
plainly  as  opposed  to  slavery;  and  in  public  speeches  not 


150  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


less  than  private  conversations  he  had  not  hesitated  to 
express  his  convictions  on  the  subject.  In  1850  he  said 
to  Major  Stuart:  “The  time  will  soon  come  when  we 
must  all  be  Democrats  or  Abolitionists.  When  that  time 
comes,  my  mind  is  made  up.  The  slavery  question  cannot 
be  compromised.”  The  hour  had  now  struck  in  which 
Lincoln  was  to  espouse  with  his  whole  heart  and  soul  that 
cause  for  which  finally  he  was  to  lay  down  his  life.  In 
the  language  of  Mr.  Arnold,  “He  had  bided  his  time. 
He  had  waited  until  the  harvest  was  ripe.  With  uner- 
ring sagacity  he  realized  that  the  triumph  of  freedom  was 
at  hand.  He  entered  upon  the  conflict  with  the  deepest 
conviction  that  the  perpetuity  of  the  Republic  required 
the  extinction  of  slavery.  So,  adopting  as  his  motto, 
‘A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand,’  he  girded 
himself  for  the  contest.  The  years  from  1854  to  1860 
were  on  his  part  years  of  constant,  active,  and  unwearied 
effort.  His  position  in  the  State  of  Illinois  was  central 
and  commanding.  He  was  now  to  become  the  recognized 
leader  of  the  anti-slavery  party  in  the  Northwest,  and  in 
all  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Lincoln  was  a practical 
statesman,  never  attempting  the  impossible,  but  seeking 
to  do  the  best  thing  practicable  under  existing  circum- 
stances. He  knew  that  prohibition  in  the  territories 
would  result  in  no  more  slave  states  and  no  slave  territory. 
And  now,  when  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise 
shattered  all  parties  into  fragments,  he  came  forward  to 
build  up  the  Free  Soil  party  and  threw  into  the  conflict 
all  his  strength  and  vigor.  The  conviction  of  his  duty 
was  deep  and  sincere.  Hence  he  pleaded  the  cause  of 
liberty  with  an  energy,  ability,  and  power  which  rapidly 
gained  for  him  a national  reputation.  Conscious  of  the 
greatness  of  his  cause,  inspired  by  a genuine  love  of 
liberty,  animated  and  made  strong  by  the  moral  sublim- 
ity of  the  conflict,  he  solemnly  announced  his  determina- 
tion to  speak  for  freedom  and  against  slavery  until  — in 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  151 

his  own  words  — wherever  the  Federal  Government  has 
power,  ‘the  sun  shall  shine,  the  rain  shall  fall,  and  the 
wind  shall  blow  upon  no  man  who  goes  forth  to  unre- 
quited toil.’” 

The  absorbing  political  topic  in  1855  was  the  contest 
in  Kansas,  which  proved  the  battle-ground  for  the  strug- 
gle over  the  introduction  of  slavery  into  the  territories 
north  of  the  line  established  by  the  “Missouri  Compro- 
mise.” Lincoln’s  views  on  the  subject  are  defined  in  a 
notable  letter  to  his  friend  Joshua  Speed,  a resident  of 
Kentucky.  The  following  passages  show,  in  Lincoln’s 
own  words,  where  he  stood  on  the  slavery  question  at 
this  memorable  epoch: 

Springfield,  August  24,  1855. 

Dear  Speed  : — You  know  what  a poor  correspondent 
I am.  Ever  since  I received  your  very  agreeable  letter 
of  the  twenty-second  of  May,  I have  been  intending  to 
write  you  in  answer  to  it.  You  suggest  that  in  political 
action  now,  you  and  I would  differ.  You  know  I dislike 
slavery,  and  you  fully  admit  the  abstract  wrong  of  it. 
So  far,  there  is  no  cause  of  difference.  But  you  say  that 
sooner  than  yield  your  legal  right  to  the  slave,  especially 
at  the  bidding  of  those  who  are  not  themselves  interested, 
you  -would  see  the  Union  dissolved.  I am  not  aware 
that  any  one  is  bidding  you  yield  that  right  — very  cer- 
tainly I am  not.  I leave  the  matter  entirely  to  yourself. 
I also  acknowledge  your  rights  and  my  obligations  under 
the  Constitution,  in  regard  to  your  slaves.  I confess  I 
hate  to  see  the  poor  creatures  hunted  down,  and  caught, 
and  carried  back  to  their  stripes  and  unrequited  toil; 
but  I bite  my  lip  and  keep  quiet.  In  1841  you  and  I had 
together  a tedious  low-water  trip  on  a steamboat  from 
Louisville  to  St.  Louis.  You  may  remember,  as  I well 
do,  that  from  Louisville  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  there 
were  on  board  ten  or  a dozen  slaves,  shackled  together 
with  irons.  That  sight  was  a continual  torment  to  me; 
and  I see  something  like  it  every  time  I touch  the  Ohio,  or 
any  other  slave  border.  It  is  not  fair  for  you  to  assume  that 
I have  no  interest  in  a thing  which  has,  and  continually 
exercises,  the  power  of  making  me  miserable.  You  ought 


152  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


rather  to  appreciate  how  much  the  great  body  of  the 
people  of  the  North  do  crucify  their  feelings  in  order  to 
maintain  their  loyalty  to  the  Constitution  and  the  Union. 

I do  oppose  the  extension  of  slavery,  because  my  judg- 
ment and  feelings  so  prompt  me;  and  I am  under  no 
obligations  to  the  contrary.  If  for  this  you  and  I must 
differ,  differ  we  must.  You  say,  if  you  were  President 
you  would  send  an  army  and  hang  the  leaders  of  the 
Missouri  outrages  upon  the  Kansas  elections;  still,  if 
Kansas  fairly  votes  herself  a slave  State,  she  must  be 
admitted,  or  the  Union  must  be  dissolved.  But  how  if 
she  votes  herself  a slave  State  unfairly  — that  is,  by  the 
very  means  for  which  you  would  hang  men?  Must  she 
still  be  admitted,  or  the  Union  dissolved?  That  will  be 
the  phase  of  the  question  when  it  first  becomes  a practical 
one.  In  your  assumption  that  there  may  be  a fair  de- 
cision of  the  slavery  question  in  Kansas,  I plainly  see  you 
and  I would  differ  about  the  Nebraska  law.  I look  upon 
that  enactment  not  as  a law  but  a violence  from  the 
beginning.  It  was  conceived  in  violence,  passed  in  vio- 
lence, is  maintained  in  violence,  and  is  being  executed  in 
violence.  I say  it  was  conceived  in  violence,  because 
the  destruction  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  under  the 
Constitution  was  nothing  less  than  violence.  It  was 
passed  in  violence,  because  it  could  not  have  passed  at  all 
but  for  the  votes  of  many  members  in  violent  disregard  of 
the  known  will  of  their  constituents.  It  is  maintained 
in  violence,  because  the  elections  since  clearly  demand 
its  repeal;  and  the  demand  is  openly  disregarded.  That 
Kansas  will  form  a slave  constitution,  and  with  it  will 
ask  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union,  I take  to  be  already  a 
settled  question,  and  so  settled  by  the  very  means  you  so 
pointedly  condemn.  By  every  principle  of  law  ever  held 
by  any  court,  North  or  South,  every  negro  taken  to 
Kansas  is  free;  yet  in  utter  disregard  of  this  — in  the 
spirit  of  violence  merely  — that  beautiful  Legislature 
gravely  passes  a law  to  hang  any  man  who  shall  venture 
to  inform  a negro  of  his  legal  rights.  This  is  the  sub- 
stance and  real  object  of  the  law.  If,  like  Haman,  they 
should  hang  upon  the  gallows  of  their  own  building,  I 
shall  not  be  among  the  mourners  for  their  fate.  In  my 
humble  sphere  I shall  advocate  the  restoration  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise  so  long  as  Kansas  remains  a Terri- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  153 


tory;  and,  when,  by  all  these  foul  means,  it  seeks  to  come 
into  the  Union  as  a slave  State,  I shall  oppose  it.  . . . 
You  inquire  where  I now  stand.  That  is  a disputed 
point.  I think  I am  a Whig;  but  others  say  there  are  no 
Whigs,  and  that  I am  an  Abolitionist.  When  I was  in 
Washington  I voted  for  the  Wilmot  Proviso  as  good  as 
forty  times,  and  I never  heard  of  any  attempt  to  unwhig 
me  for  that.  I now  do  no  more  than  oppose  the  exten- 
sion of  slavery.  I am  not  a Know-Nothing  — that  is 
certain.  How  could  I be?  How  can  anyone  who  abhors 
the  oppression  of  the  negroes  be  in  favor  of  degrading 
classes  of  white  people?  Our  progress  in  degeneracy 
appears  to  me  to  be  pretty  rapid.  As  a nation  we  began 
by  declaring  that  ‘all  men  are  created  equal.’  We  now 
practically  read  it  ‘all  men  are  created  equal,  except 
negroes.’  When  the  Know-Nothings  get  control,  it  will 
read,  ‘ all  men  are  created  equals,  except  negroes  and  for- 
eigners and  Catholics.’  When  it  comes  to  that,  I should 
prefer  emigrating  to  some  other  country  where  they 
make  no  pretense  of  loving  liberty  — to  Russia  for  in- 
stance, where  despotism  can  be  taken  pure,  and  without 
the  base  alloy  of  hypocrisy. 

Your  friend  forever, 

A.  Lincoln. 

Lincoln  was  soon  accorded  an  opportunity  to  cross 
swords  again  with  his  former  political  antagonist,  Douglas, 
who  had  lately  come  from  his  place  in  the  Senate  Cham- 
ber at  Washington,  where  he  had  carried  the  obnoxious 
Nebraska  Bill  against  the  utmost  efforts  of  Chase,  Seward, 
Sumner,  and  others,  to  defeat  it.  As  Mr.  Arnold  narrates 
the  incident,  — “When,  late  in  September,  1854,  Douglas 
returned  to  Illinois  he  was  received  with  a storm  of 
indignation  which  would  have  crushed  a man  of  less 
power  and  will.  A bold  and  courageous  leader,  conscious 
of  his  personal  power  over  his  party,  he  bravely  met  the 
storm  and  sought  to  allay  it.  In  October,  1854,  the 
State  Fair  being  then  in  session  at  Springfield,  with  a 
great  crowd  of  people  in  attendance  from  all  parts  of  the 
State,  Douglas  went  there  and  made  an  elaborate  and 


154  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


able  speech  in  defense  of  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise. Lincoln  was  called  upon  by  the  opponents  of 
this  repeal  to  reply,  and  he  did  so  with  a power  which  he 
never  surpassed  and  had  never  before  equalled.  All 
other  issues  which  had  divided  the  people  were  as  chaff, 
and  were  scattered  to  the  winds  by  the  intense  agitation 
which  arose  on  the  question  of  extending  slavery,  not 
merely  into  free  territory,  but  into  territory  which  had 
been  declared  free  by  solemn  compact.  Lincoln’s  speech 
occupied  more  than  three  hours  in  delivery,  and  dur- 
ing all  that  time  he  held  the  vast  crowd  in  the  deepest 
attention.” 

Mr.  Herndon  said  of  this  event:  “This  anti-Nebraska 
speech  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  the  profoundest  that  he  made 
in  his  whole  life.  He  felt  burning  upon  his  soul  the 
truths  which  he  uttered,  and  all  present  felt  that  he  was 
true  to  his  own  soul.  His  feelings  once  or  twice  came 
near  stifling  utterance.  He  quivered  with  emotion.  He 
attacked  the  Nebraska  Bill  with  such  warmth  and  energy 
that  all  felt  that  a man  of  strength  was  its  enemy,  and 
that  he  intended  to  blast  it,  if  he  could,  by  strong  and 
manly  efforts.  He  was  most  successful,  and  the  house 
approved  his  triumph  by  loud  and  continued  huzzas, 
while  women  waved  their  white  handkerchiefs  in  token  of 
heartfelt  assent.  Douglas  felt  the  sting,  and  he  frequently 
interrupted  Mr.  Lincoln;  his  friends  felt  that  he  was 
crushed  by  the  powerful  argument  of  his  opponent.  The 
Nebraska  Bill  was  shivered,  and,  like  a tree  of  the  forest, 
was  torn  and  rent  asunder  by  hot  bolts  of  truth.  At 
the  conclusion  of  this  speech,  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  felt  that  it  was  unanswerable.”  In  speaking  of  the 
same  occasion,  Mr.  Lamon  says:  “Many  fine  speeches 
were  made  upon  the  one  absorbing  topic;  but  it  is  no 
shame  to  any  one  of  these  orators  that  their  really  im- 
pressive speeches  were  but  slightly  appreciated  or  long 
remembered  beside  Mr.  Lincoln’s  splendid  and  enduring 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  155 


performance,  — enduring  in  the  memory  of  his  auditors, 
although  preserved  upon  no  written  or  printed  page.” 

A few  days  after  this  encounter,  Douglas  spoke  in 
Peoria,  and  was  followed  by  Lincoln  with  the  same 
crushing  arguments  that  had  served  him  at  the  State 
Fair,  and  with  the  same  triumphant  effect.  His  Peoria 
speech  was  written  out  by  him  and  published  after  its 
delivery.  A few  specimens  will  show  its  style  and  argu- 
mentative power. 

Argue  as  you  will,  and  as  long  as  you  will,  this  is  the 
naked  front  and  aspect  of  the  measure;  and  in  this  aspect 
it  could  not  but  produce  agitation.  Slavery  is  founded 
in  the  selfishness  of  man’s  nature;  opposition  to  it,  in  his 
love  of  justice.  These  principles  are  an  eternal  antag- 
onism; and  when  brought  into  collision  so  fiercely  as 
slavery  extension  brings  them,  shocks,  throes,  and  con- 
vulsions must  ceaselessly  follow.  Repeal  the  Missouri 
Compromise;  repeal  all  compromises;  repeal  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence;  repeal  all  past  history,  — you 
still  cannot  repeal  human  nature.  It  still  will  be  the 
abundance  of  man’s  heart,  that  slavery  extension  is  wrong; 
and  out  of  the  abundance  of  his  heart,  his  mouth  will 
continue  to  speak.  . . . When  Mr.  Pettit,  in  connection 
with  his  support  of  the  Nebraska  Bill,  called  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  ‘a  self-evident  lie,’  he  only  did 
what  consistency  and  candor  require  all  other  Nebraska 
men  to  do.  Of  the  forty-odd  Nebraska  Senators  who  sat 
present  and  heard  him,  no  one  rebuked  him.  ...  If 
this  had  been  said  among  Marion’s  men,  Southerners 
though  they  were,  what  would  have  become  of  the  man 
who  said  it?  If  this  had  been  said  to  the  men  who  cap- 
tured Andre,  the  man  who  said  it  would  probably  have 
been  hung  sooner  than  Andre  was.  If  it  had  been  said 
in  old  Independence  Hall  seventy-eight  years  ago,  the 
very  doorkeeper  would  have  throttled  the  man,  and 
thrust  him  into  the  street.  . . . Thus  we  see  the  plain, 
unmistakable  spirit  of  that  early  age  towards  slavery 
was  hostility  to  the  principle,  and  toleration  only  by 
necessity.  But  now  it  is  to  be  transformed  into  a ‘sacred 
right.’  Nebraska  brings  it  forth,  places  it  on  the  high 


156  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


road  to  extension  and  perpetuity,  and  with  a pat  on  its 
back  says  to  it:  ‘Go,  and  God  speed  you.’  Henceforth 
it  is  to  be  the  chief  jewel  of  the  nation,  the  very  figure- 
head of  the  ship  of  state.  Little  by  little,  but  steadily  as 
man’s  march  to  the  grave,  wre  have  been  giving  the  old 
for  the  new  faith.  Nearly  eighty  years  ago  we  began  by 
declaring  that  all  men  are  created  equal;  but  now  from 
that  beginning  we  have  run  down  to  that  other  declaration, 
‘that  for  some  men  to  enslave  others  is  a sacred  right  of 
self-government.’  ...  In  our  greedy  chase  to  make 
profit  of  the  negro,  let  us  beware  lest  we  cancel  and  tear 
to  pieces  even  the  white  man’s  charter  of  freedom.  . . . 
If  all  earthly  power  were  given  me,  I should  not  know 
what  to  do  as  to  the  existing  institution.  My  first  im- 
pulse would  be  to  free  all  the  slaves,  and  send  them  to 
Liberia  — to  their  own  native  land.  But,  if  they  were 
all  landed  there  in  a day,  they  would  all  perish  in  the  next 
ten  days;  and  there  are  not  surplus  shipping  and  surplus 
money  enough  to  carry  them  there  in  many  times  ten 
days.  What  then?  Free  them  all,  and  keep  them  among 
us  as  underlings?  Is  it  quite  certain  that  this  betters 
their  condition?  I think  I would  not  hold  one  in  slavery 
at  any  rate;  yet  the  point  is  not  clear  enough  for  me  to 
denounce  people  upon.  What  next?  Free  them,  and 
make  them  politically  and  socially  our  equals?  My  own 
feelings  will  not  admit  of  this;  and,  if  mine  would,  we 
well  know  that  those  of  the  great  mass  of  white  people 
will  not.  A universal  feeling,  whether  well  or  ill  founded, 
cannot  be  safely  disregarded.  We  cannot  then  make 
them  equals.  It  does  seem  to  me  that  systems  of  gradual 
emancipation  might  be  adopted;  but,  for  their  tardiness 
in  this,  I will  not  undertake  to  judge  our  brethren  of  the 
South. 

Our  Republican  robe  is  soiled  — trailed  in  the  dust. 
Let  us  repurify  it.  Let  us  turn  and  wash  it  white,  in  the 
spirit,  if  not  the  blood,  of  the  Revolution.  Let  us  turn 
slavery  from  its  claims  of  ‘moral  right,’  back  upon  its 
existing  legal  rights  and  its  arguments  of  ‘necessity.’ 
Let  us  return  it  to  the  position  our  fathers  gave  it,  and 
there  let  it  rest  in  peace.  Let  us  re-adopt  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  and  with  it  the  practices  and  policy 
which  harmonize  with  it.  Let  North  and  South  — let 
all  Americans  — let  all  lovers  of  liberty  everywhere  — 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  157 


join  in  the  great  and  good  work.  If  we  do  this,  we  shall 
not  only  have  saved  the  Union,  but  we  shall  have  so  saved 
it  as  to  make  and  to  keep  it  forever  worthy  of  the  saving. 
We  shall  have  so  saved  it  that  the  succeeding  millions  of 
free  and  happy  people,  the  world  over,  shall  rise  up  and 
call  us  blessed  to  the  latest  generations. 

It  was  in  one  of  these  speeches  that  Lincoln’s  power  of 
repartee  was  admirably  illustrated  by  a most  laughable 
retort  made  by  him  to  Douglas.  Mr.  Ralph  E.  Hoyt, 
who  was  present,  says:  “In  the  course  of  his  speech,  Mr. 
Douglas  had  said,  ‘The  Whigs  are  all  dead.’  For  some 
time  before  speaking,  Lincoln  sat  on  the  platform  with 
only  his  homely  face  visible  to  the  audience  above  the 
high  desk  before  him.  On  being  introduced,  he  arose 
from  his  chair  and  proceeded  to  straighten  himself  up. 
For  a few  seconds  I wondered  when  and  where  his  head 
would  cease  its  ascent;  but  at  last  it  did  stop,  and  ‘Honest 
Old  Abe’  stood  before  us.  He  commenced,  ‘Fellow- 
citizens:  My  friend,  Mr.  Douglas,  made  the  startling 
announcement  to-day  that  the  Whigs  are  all  dead.  If 
this  be  so,  fellow-citizens,  you  will  now  experience  the 
novelty  of  hearing  a speech  from  a dead  man;  and  I 
suppose  you  might  properly  say,  in  the  language  of  the 
old  hymn: 

“Hark!  from  the  tombs  a doleful  sound!”’ 

This  set  the  audience  fairly  wild  with  delight,  and  at  once 
brought  them  into  full  confidence  with  the  speaker.” 

Hating  slavery  though  he  did,  Lincoln  was  steadily 
opposed  to  all  forms  of  unlawful  or  violent  opposition  to  it. 
At  about  the  time  of  which  we  are  speaking  a party  of 
Abolitionists  in  Illinois  had  become  so  excited  over  the 
Kansas  struggle  that  they  were  determined  to  go  to  the 
aid  of  the  Free-State  men  in  that  territory.  As  soon  as 
Lincoln  learned  of  this  project,  he  opposed  it  strongly. 
When  they  spoke  to  him  of  “Liberty,  Justice,  and  God’s 


158  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


higher  law,”  he  replied  in  this  temperate  and  judicious 
strain : 

Friends,  you  are  in  the  minority  — in  a sad  minority; 
and  you  can’t  hope  to  succeed,  reasoning  from  all  human 
experience.  You  would  rebel  against  the  Government, 
and  redden  your  hands  in  the  blood  of  your  countrymen. 
If  you  have  the  majority,  as  some  of  you  say  you  have, 
you  can  succeed  with  the  ballot,  throwing  away  the 
bullet.  You  can  peaceably,  then,  redeem  the  Govern- 
ment and  preserve  the  liberties  of  mankind,  through  your 
votes  and  voice  and  moral  influence.  Let  there  be  peace . 
In  a democracy,  where  the  majority  rule  by  the  ballot 
through  the  forms  of  law,  these  physical  rebellions  and 
bloody  resistances  are  radically  wrong,  unconstitutional, 
and  are  treason.  Better  bear  the  ills  you  have  than  fly 
to  those  you  know  not  of.  Our  own  Declaration  of 
Independence  says  that  governments  long  established 
should  not  be  resisted  for  trivial  causes.  Revolutionize 
through  the  ballot-box,  and  restore  the  Government  once 
more  to  the  affection  and  hearts  of  men,  by  making  it 
express,  as  it  was  intended  to  do,  the  highest  spirit  of 
justice  and  liberty.  Your  attempt,  if  there  be  such,  to 
resist  the  laws  of  Kansas  by  force,  will  be  criminal  and 
wicked;  and  all  your  feeble  attempts  will  be  follies,  and 
end  in  bringing  sorrow  on  your  heads,  and  ruin  the  cause 
you  would  freely  die  to  preserve. 

No  doubt  was  felt  of  Lincoln’s  sympathies;  indeed,  he 
is  known  to  have  contributed  money  to  the  Free-State 
cause.  But  it  is  noticeable  that  in  this  exciting  episode 
he  showed  the  same  coolness,  wisdom,  moderation,  love 
of  law  and  order  that  so  strongly  characterized  his  con- 
duct in  the  stormier  period  of  the  Civil  War,  and  without 
which  it  is  doubtful  if  he  would  have  been  able  to  save  the 
nation. 

Some  interesting  recollections  of  the  events  of  this 
stirring  period,  and  of  Lincoln’s  part  in  them,  are  given 
by  Mr.  Paul  Selby,  for  a long  time  editor  of  the  “State 
Journal”  at  Springfield,  and  one  of  Lincoln’s  old-time 
friends  and  political  associates.  “While  Abraham  Lin- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  159 


coin  had  the  reputation  of  being  inspired  by  an  almost 
unbounded  ambition,”  says  Mr.  Selby,  “it  was  of  that 
generous  quality  which  characterized  his  other  attributes, 
and  often  led  him  voluntarily  to  restrain  its  gratification 
in  deference  to  the  conflicting  aspirations  of  his  friends. 
All  remember  his  magnanimity  towards  Col.  Edward  D. 
Baker,  when  the  latter  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the 
Springfield  District  in  1844,  and  the  frankness  with  which 
he  informed  Baker  of  his  own  desire  to  be  a candidate  in 
1846  — when  for  the  only  time  in  his  life,  he  was  elected 
to  that  body.  In  1852,  Richard  Yates  of  Jacksonville, 
then  recognized  as  one  of  the  rising  young  orators  and 
statesmen  of  the  West,  was  elected  to  Congress  for  the 
second  time  from  the  Springfield  District.  It  was  during 
the  term  following  this  election  that  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
issue  was  precipitated  upon  the  country  by  Senator 
Douglas,  in  the  introduction  of  his  bill  for  the  repeal  of 
the  Missouri  Compromise.  Yates,  in  obedience  to  his 
impulses,  which  were  always  on  the  side  of  freedom,  took 
strong  ground  against  the  measure  — notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  a majority  of  his  constituents,  though 
originally  Whigs,  were  strongly  conservative,  as  was 
generally  the  case  with  people  who  were  largely  of  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee  origin.  In  1854  the  Whig  party, 
which  had  been  divided  on  the  Kansas-Nebraska  question, 
began  to  manifest  symptoms  of  disintegration;  while  the 
Republican  party,  though  not  yet  known  by  that  name, 
began  to  take  form.  At  this  time  I was  publishing  a 
paper  at  Jacksonville,  Yates’s  home;  and  although  from 
the  date  of  my  connection  with  it,  in  1852,  it  had  not 
been  a political  paper,  the  introduction  of  a new  issue 
soon  led  me  to  take  decided  ground  on  the  side  of  free 
territory.  Lincoln  at  once  sprang  into  prominence  as 
one  of  the  boldest,  most  vigorous  and  eloquent  oppo- 
nents of  Mr.  Douglas’s  measure,  which  was  construed  as  a 
scheme  to  secure  the  admission  of  slavery  into  all  the  new 


160  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


territories  of  the  United  States.  At  that  time  Lincoln’s 
election  to  a seat  in  Congress  would  probably  have  been 
very  grateful  to  his  ambition,  as  well  as  acceptable  in  a 
pecuniary  point  of  view;  and  his  prominence  and  ability 
had  already  attracted  the  eyes  of  the  whole  State  toward 
him  in  a special  degree.  Having  occasion  to  visit  Spring- 
field  one  day  while  the  subject  of  the  selection  of  a candi- 
date was  under  consideration  among  the  opponents  of 
the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  I encountered  Mr.  Lincoln  on 
the  street.  As  we  walked  along,  the  subject  of  the  choice 
of  a candidate  for  Congress  to  succeed  Yates  came  up, 
when  I stated  that  many  of  the  old-line  Whigs  and  anti- 
Nebraska  men  in  the  western  part  of  the  district  were 
looking  to  him  as  an  available  leader.  While  he  seemed 
gratified  by  the  compliment,  he  said : ‘No;  Yates  has  been 
a true  and  faithful  Representative,  and  should  be  re- 
turned.’ Yates  was  re-nominated;  and  although  he  ran 
ahead  of  his  ticket,  yet  so  far  had  the  disorganization  of 
the  Whig  party  then  progressed,  and  so  strong  a foothold 
had  the  pro-slavery  sentiment  obtained  in  the  district, 
that  he  was  defeated  by  Major  Thomas  L.  Harris,  of 
Petersburg,  whom  he  had  defeated  when  he  first  entered 
the  field  as  a candidate  four  years  before.  While  it  is 
scarcely  probable  that  Lincoln,  if  he  had  been  a candidate, 
could  have  changed  the  result,  yet  the  prize  was  one 
which  he  would  then  have  considered  worth  contending 
for;  and  if  the  nomination  could  have  been  tendered  him 
without  doing  injustice  to  his  friend,  he  would  undoubtedly 
have  accepted  it  gladly  and  thrown  all  the  earnestness  and 
ability  which  he  possessed  into  the  contest.  This  in- 
stance only  illustrates  a feature  of  his  character  which 
has  so  often  been  recognized  and  commented  upon  — 
his  generosity  toward  those  among  his  political  friends 
who  might  be  regarded  as  occupying  the  position  of 
rivals.” 

In  1854,  during  Lincoln’s  absence  from  Springfield,  he 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  161 


was  nominated  as  a candidate  for  the  State  Legislature. 
It  was  in  one  of  Lincoln’s  periods  of  profound  depression, 
and  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  he  could  be 
persuaded  to  accept  the  nomination.  “I  went  to  see 
him,”  says  one  of  his  close  political  friends,  Mr.  William 
Jayne,  “in  order  to  get  his  consent  to  run.  This  was  at 
his  house.  He  was  then  the  saddest  man  I ever  saw  — 
the  gloomiest.  He  walked  up  and  down  the  floor,  almost 
crying;  and  to  all  my  persuasions  to  let  his  name  stand  in 
the  paper,  he  said,  ‘No,  I can’t.  You  don’t  know  all. 
I say  you  don’t  begin  to  know  one-half;  and  that’s 
enough.’  ” His  name,  however,  was  allowed  to  stand, 
and  he  was  elected  by  about  600  majority.  But  Lincoln 
was  then  extremely  desirous  of  succeeding  General  James 
Shields,  whose  term  in  the  United  States  Senate  was  to 
expire  the  following  March.  The  Senate  Chamber  had 
long  been  the  goal  of  his  ambition.  He  summed  up  his 
feelings  in  a letter  to  Hon.  N.  B.  Judd,  some  years  after, 
saying,  “I  would  rather  have  a full  term  in  the  United 
States  Senate  than  the  Presidency.”  He  therefore  re- 
signed his  seat  in  the  Legislature  — the  fact  that  a major- 
ity in  both  houses  was  opposed  to  the  Nebraska  Bill 
allowing  him  to  do  so  without  injury  to  his  party  — and 
became  a candidate  for  the  Senate.  But  the  act  was 
futile.  When  the  Legislature  met,  in  February,  1855,  to 
make  choice  of  a Senator,  a clique  of  anti-Nebraska 
Democrats  held  out  so  firmly  against  the  nomination  of 
Lincoln  that  there  was  danger  of  the  Whigs  leaving  their 
candidate  altogether.  In  this  dilemma  Lincoln  was  con- 
sulted. Mr.  Lamon  thus  describes  the  incident:  “Lin- 
coln said,  unhesitatingly,  ‘You  ought  to  drop  me  and  go 
for  Trumbull;  that  is  the  only  way  you  can  defeat  Matte- 
son.’  Judge  Logan  came  up  about  that  time,  and  in- 
sisted on  running  Lincoln  still;  but  the  latter  said,  ‘If 
you  do,  you  will  lose  both  Trumbull  and  myself;  and  I 
think  the  cause  in  this  case  is  to  be  preferred  to  men.’ 


162  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


We  adopted  his  suggestion,  and  took  up  Trumbull  and 
elected  him,  although  it  grieved  us  to  the  heart  to  give 
up  Lincoln.”  Mr.  Parks,  a member  of  the  Legislature 
at  this  time,  and  one  of  Lincoln’s  intimate  friends,  said: 
“Mr.  Lincoln  was  very  much  disappointed,  for  I think  it 
was  the  height  of  his  ambition  to  get  into  the  United 
States  Senate.  Yet  he  manifested  no  bitterness  toward 
Mr.  Judd  or  the  other  anti-Nebraska  Democrats  by 
whom  politically  he  was  beaten,  but  evidently  thought 
their  motives  were  right.  He  told  me  several  times 
afterwards  that  the  election  of  Trumbull  was  the  best 
thing  that  could  have  happened.” 

Hon.  Elijah  M.  Haines,  ex-Speaker  of  the  Illinois 
Legislature,  a resident  of  the  State  for  over  half  a century, 
and  one  of  Lincoln’s  early  friends,  was  a member  of  the 
Legislature  during  the  Senatorial  struggle  just  referred 
to.  His  familiarity  with  all  its  incidents  lends  value  to 
his  distinct  and  vivid  recollections.  “Abraham  Lincoln 
had  been  elected  a member  of  the  House  on  the  Fusion 
ticket,  with  Judge  Stephen  T.  Logan,  for  the  district 
composed  of  Sangamon  County,”  writes  Mr.  Haines. 
“But  it  being  settled  that  the  Fusion  party  — which  was 
an  anti-Douglas  combination,  including  Whigs,  Free- 
Soilers,  Know-Nothings,  etc.  — would  have  a majority 
of  the  two  houses  on  ballot,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  induced  to 
become  a candidate  for  United  States  Senator,  for  the 
support  of  that  party.  He  therefore  did  not  qualify  as  a 
member.  Although  Mr.  Lincoln  never  acquired  the 
reputation  of  being  an  office-seeker,  yet  it  happened  fre- 
quently that  his  name  would  be  mentioned  in  connection 
with  some  important  position.  He  became  quite  early 
in  life  one  of  the  prominent  leaders  of  the  Whig  party  of 
the  State,  and  for  a long  time,  in  connection  with  a few 
devoted  associates,  led  the  forlorn  hope  of  that  party. 
During  a period  of  about  twenty  years  there  was  seldom 
more  than  one  Whig  member  in  the  Illinois  delegation  of 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  163 


Congressmen.  The  Sangamon  district,  in  which  Mr. 
Lincoln  lived,  was  always  sure  to  elect  a Whig  member 
when  the  party  was  united;  but  it  contained  quite  a 
number  of  aspiring  Whig  orators,  and  there  was  a kind  of 
understanding  between  them  that  no  one  who  attained 
the  position  of  Representative  in  Congress  should  hold  it 
longer  than  one  term;  that  he  would  then  give  way  for 
the  next  favorite.  Mr.  Lincoln  had  held  the  position 
once,  and  its  return  to  him  was  far  in  the  future.  The 
Fusion  triumph  in  the  Legislature  was  considered  by  the 
Whig  element  as  a success,  in  which  they  acknowledged 
great  obligation  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  That  element  in  the 
Fusion  party  therefore  urged  his  claims  as  the  successor 
of  General  Shields.  His  old  associate  and  tried  friend 
in  the  Whig  cause,  Judge  Logan,  became  the  champion 
of  his  interests  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  I was 
present  and  saw  something  of  Mr.  Lincoln  during  the 
early  part  of  the  session,  before  the  vote  for  Senator  was 
taken.  He  was  around  among  the  members  much  of  the 
time.  His  manner  was  agreeable  and  unassuming;  he 
was  not  forward  in  pressing  his  case  upon  the  attention 
of  members,  yet  before  the  interview  would  come  to  a 
close  some  allusion  to  the  Senatorship  would  generally 
occur,  when  he  would  respond  in  some  such  way  as  this: 
‘Gentlemen,  that  is  rather  a delicate  subject  for  me  to 
talk  upon;  but  I must  confess  that  I would  be  glad  of 
your  support  for  the  office,  if  you  shall  conclude  that  I 
am  the  proper  person  for  it.’  When  he  had  finished,  he 
would  generally  take  occasion  to  withdraw  before  any 
discussion  on  the  subject  arose.  When  the  election  of 
Senator  occurred,  in  February,  Lincoln  received  45  votes 
— the  highest  number  of  any  of  the  candidates,  and 
within  six  votes  of  enough  to  secure  his  election.  This 
was  on  the  first  ballot,  after  which  Lincoln’s  votes  de- 
clined. After  the  ninth  ballot,  Mr.  Lincoln  stepped 
forward  — or,  as  Mr.  Richmond  expresses  it,  leaned  for- 


164-  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


ward  from  his  position  in  the  lobby  — and  requested  the 
committee  to  withdraw  his  name.  On  the  tenth  ballot 
Judge  Trumbull  received  fifty-one  votes  and  was  de- 
clared elected.”  Thus  were  Lincoln’s  political  ambitions 
again  frustrated.  But  their  realization  was  only  delayed 
for  the  far  grander  triumph  that  was  so  soon  to  come, 
although  no  man  then  foresaw  its  coming. 


CHAPTER  X 


Birth  of  the  Republican  Party  — Lincoln  One  of  Its  Fathers  — Takes 
His  Stand  with  the  Abolitionists  — The  Bloomington  Convention 
— Lincoln’s  Great  Anti-Slavery  Speech  — A Ratification  Meeting 
of  Three  — The  First  National  Republican  Convention  — Lincoln’s 
Name  Presented  for  the  Vice-Presidency  — Nomination  of  Fremont 
and  Dayton  — Lincoln  in  the  Campaign  of  1856  — His  Appear- 
ance and  Influence  on  the  Stump  — Regarded  as  a Dangerous 
Man  — His  Views  on  the  Politics  of  the  Future  — First  Visit  to 
Cincinnati  — Meeting  with  Edwin  M.  Stanton  — Stanton’s  First 
Impressions  of  Lincoln  — Regards  Him  as  a “ Giraffe  ” — A Visit 
to  Cincinnati. 


HE  year  1856  saw  the  dissolution  of  the  old  Whig 


X party.  It  had  become  too  narrow  and  restricted 
to  answer  the  needs  of  the  hour.  A new  platform  was 
demanded,  one  that  would  admit  the  great  principles  and 
issues  growing  out  of  the  slavery  agitation.  A conven- 
tion of  the  Whig  leaders  throughout  the  country  met  at 
Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  22d  of  February  of  that 
year,  to  consider  the  necessity  of  a new  organization.  A 
little  later,  Mr.  Herndon,  in  the  office  of  Lincoln,  pre- 
pared a call  for  a convention  at  Bloomington,  Illinois, 
“summoning  together  all  those  who  wished  to  see  the  gov- 
ernment conducted  on  the  principles  of  Washington  and 
Jefferson.”  This  call  was  signed  by  the  most  prominent 
Abolitionists  of  Illinois,  with  the  name  of  A.  Lincoln  at 
the  head.  The  morning  after  its  publication,  Major 
Stuart  entered  Mr.  Herndon’s  office  in  a state  of  extreme 
excitement,  and,  as  the  latter  relates,  demanded:  “ ‘Sir, 
did  Mr.  Lincoln  sign  that  Abolition  call  which  is  pub- 
lished this  morning?’  I answered,  ‘Mr.  Lincoln  did  not 
sign  that  call.’  ‘Did  Lincoln  authorize  you  to  sign  it?’ 


166  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


‘No,  he  never  authorized  me  to  sign  it.’  ‘Then  do  you 
know  that  you  have  ruined  Mr.  Lincoln?’  ‘I  did  not 
know  that  I had  ruined  Mr.  Lincoln;  did  not  intend  to 
do  so;  thought  he  was  a made  man  by  it;  that  the  time 
had  come  when  conservatism  was  a crime  and  a blunder.’ 
‘You,  then,  take  the  responsibility  of  your  acts,  do  you?’ 
‘I  do,  most  emphatically.’  However,  I instantly  sat 
down  and  wrote  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  was  then  in  Pekin 
or  Tremont  — possibly  at  court.  He  received  my  letter, 
and  instantly  replied,  either  by  letter  or  telegraph  — most 
likely  by  letter  — that  he  adopted  in  toto  what  I had 
done,  and  promised  to  meet  the  radicals  — Lovejoy  and 
such  like  men  — among  us.”  Mr.  Herndon  adds : “ Never 
did  a man  change  as  Lincoln  did  from  that  hour.  No 
sooner  had  he  planted  himself  right  on  the  slavery  question 
than  his  whole  soul  seemed  burning.  He  blossomed  right 
out.  Then,  too,  other  spiritual  things  grew  more  real  to 
him.” 

Mr.  Herndon  had  been  an  Abolitionist  from  birth.  It 
was  an  inheritance  with  him;  but  Lincoln’s  conversion 
was  a gradual  process,  stimulated  and  confirmed  by  the 
influence  of  his  companion.  “From  1854  to  1860,”  says 
Mr.  Herndon,  “I  kept  putting  into  Lincoln’s  hands  the 
speeches  and  sermons  of  Theodore  Parker,  Wendell 
Phillips,  and  Henry  Ward  Beecher.  I took  ‘The  Anti- 
Slavery  Standard’  for  years  before  1856,  ‘The  Chicago 
Tribune,’  and  ‘The  New  York  Tribune’;  kept  them  in 
my  office,  kept  them  purposely  on  my  table,  and  would 
read  to  Lincoln  the  good,  sharp,  solid  things,  well  put. 
Lincoln  was  a natural  anti-slavery  man,  as  I think,  and 
yet  he  needed  watching,  — needed  hope,  faith,  energy; 
and  I think  I warmed  him.” 

It  is  stated  that  “when  Herndon  was  very  young  — 
probably  before  Mr.  Lincoln  made  his  first  protest  in  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  in  behalf  of  liberty  — Lincoln 
once  said  to  him:  ‘I  cannot  see  what  makes  your  con- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  167 


victions  so  decided  as  regards  the  future  of  slavery.  What 
tells  you  the  thing  must  be  rooted  out?’  ‘I  feel  it  in  my 
bones,’  was  Herndon’s  emphatic  answer.  ‘This  conti- 
nent is  not  broad  enough  to  endure  the  contest  between 
freedom  and  slavery ! ’ It  was  almost  in  these  very  words 
that  Lincoln  afterwards  opened  the  great  contest  with 
Douglas.  From  this  time  forward  he  submitted  all 
public  questions  to  what  he  called  ‘the  test  of  Bill  Hern- 
don’s bone  philosophy’;  and  their  arguments  were  close 
and  protracted.” 

Lincoln’s  attitude  on  slavery  aroused  formidable  oppo- 
sition among  his  friends,  and  even  in  his  own  family. 
Mrs.  Lincoln  was  decidedly  pro-slavery  in  her  views. 
Once  while  riding  with  a friend  she  said:  “If  my  husband 
dies,  his  spirit  will  never  find  me  residing  outside  the 
limits  of  a slave  State.”  But  opposition,  whether  from 
without  or  within,  could  never  swerve  him  from  a course  to 
which  conscience  and  reason  clearly  impelled  him.  Long 
before  Mr.  Herndon  published  the  call  for  the  Blooming- 
ton convention,  he  had  said  to  a deputation  of  men  from 
Chicago,  in  answer  to  the  inquiry  whether  Lincoln  could 
be  trusted  for  freedom:  “Can  you  trust  yourselves?  If 
you  can,  you  can  trust  Lincoln  forever.” 

The  convention  met  at  Bloomington,  May  29,  1856. 
One  of  its  chief  incidents  was  a speech  by  Lincoln.  This 
speech  was  one  of  the  great  efforts  of  his  life,  and  had  a 
powerful  influence  on  the  convention.  “Never,”  says 
one  of  the  delegates,  “ was  an  audience  more  completely 
electrified  by  human  eloquence.  Again  and  again  his 
hearers  sprang  to  their  feet,  and  by  long  continued  cheers 
expressed  how  deeply  the  speaker  had  aroused  them.” 
“It  was  there,”  says  Mr.  Herndon  in  one  of  his  lectures, 
“that  Lincoln  was  baptized  and  Joined  our  church.  He 
made  a speech  to  us.  I have  heard  or  read  all  of  Mr. 
Lincoln’s  great  speeches;  and  I give  it  as  my  opinion  that 
the  Bloomington  speech  was  the  grand  effort  of  his  life. 


168  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Heretofore,  and  up  to  this  moment,  he  had  simply  argued 
the  slavery  question  on  grounds  of  policy,  — on  what  are 
called  the  statesman's  grounds,  — never  reaching  the 
question  of  the  radical  and  eternal  right.  Now  he  was 
newly  baptized  and  freshly  born;  he  had  the  fervor  of  a 
new  convert;  the  smothered  flame  broke  out;  enthusiasm 
unusual  to  him  blazed  up;  his  eyes  were  aglow  with 
inspiration;  he  felt  a new  and  more  vital  justice;  his 
heart  was  alive  to  the  right;  his  sympathies  burst  forth; 
and  he  stood  before  the  throne  of  the  eternal  Right,  in 
presence  of  his  God,  and  then  and  there  unburdened  his 
penitential  and  fired  soul.  This  speech  was  fresh,  new, 
genuine,  odd,  original;  filled  with  fervor  not  unmixed 
with  a divine  enthusiasm ; his  head  breathing  out  through 
his  tender  heart  its  truths,  its  sense  of  right,  and  its  feeling 
of  the  good  and  for  the  good.  This  speech  was  full 
of  fire  and  energy  and  force;  it  was  logic;  it  was  pathos; 
it  was  enthusiasm;  it  was  justice,  equity,  truth,  right, 
and  good,  set  ablaze  by  the  divine  fires  of  a soul  maddened 
by  wrong;  it  was  hard,  heavy,  knotty,  gnarly,  edged,  and 
heated.  I attempted  for  about  fifteen  minutes,  as  was 
usual  with  me  then,  to  take  notes;  but  at  the  end  of  that 
time  I threw  pen  and  paper  to  the  dogs,  and  lived  only  in 
the  inspiration  of  the  hour.  If  Mr.  Lincoln  was  six  feet  four 
inches  high  usually,  at  Bloomington  he  was  seven  feet,  and 
inspired  at  that.  From  that  day  to  the  day  of  his  death, 
he  stood  firm  on  the  right.  He  felt  his  great  cross,  had 
his  great  idea,  nursed  it,  kept  it,  taught  it  to  others,  and 
in  his  fidelity  bore  witness  of  it  to  his  death,  and  finally 
sealed  it  with  his  precious  blood.” 

The  committee  on  resolutions  at  the  convention  found 
themselves,  after  hours  of  discussion,  unable  to  agree; 
and  at  last  they  sent  for  Lincoln.  He  suggested  that  all 
could  unite  on  the  principles  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence and  hostility  to  the  extension  of  slavery.  “Let 
us,”  said  he,  “in  building  our  new  party  make  our  corner- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  169 


stone  the  Declaration  of  Independence;  let  us  build  on 
this  rock,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against 
us.”  The  problem  was  mastered,  and  the  convention 
adopted  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  we  hold,  in  accordance  with  the  opin- 
ions and  practices  of  all  the  great  statesmen  of  all  parties 
for  the  first  sixty  years  of  the  administration  of  the 
government,  that  under  the  Constitution  Congress 
possesses  full  power  to  prohibit  slavery  in  the  territories; 
and  that  while  we  will  maintain  all  constitutional  rights 
of  the  South,  we  also  hold  that  justice,  humanity,  the 
principles  of  freedom,  as  expressed  in  our  Declaration  of 
Independence  and  our  National  Constitution,  and  the 
purity  and  perpetuity  of  our  government,  require  that 
that  power  should  be  exerted  to  prevent  the  extension  of 
slavery  into  territories  heretofore  free. 

The  Bloomington  convention  concluded  its  work  by 
choosing  delegates  to  the  National  Republican  con- 
vention to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  the  following  month, 
for  the  nomination  of  candidates  for  the  Presidency  and 
Vice-presidency  of  the  United  States.  And  thus  was 
organized  the  Republican  party  in  Illinois,  which  revolu- 
tionized the  politics  of  the  State  and  elected  Lincoln  to 
the  Presidency. 

The  people  of  Bloomington  seem  to  have  had  but 
little  sympathy  with  this  convention.  A few  days  later, 
Herndon  and  Lincoln  tried  to  hold  a ratification  meeting; 
but  only  three  persons  were  present  — Lincoln,  Herndon, 
and  John  Pain.  “When  Lincoln  came  into  the  court- 
room where  the  meeting  was  to  be  held,”  says  Herndon, 
“there  was  an  expression  of  sadness  and  amusement  on 
his  face.  He  walked  to  the  stand,  mounted  it  in  a kind 
of  mockery  — mirth  and  sadness  all  combined  — and 
said,  ‘Gentlemen,  this  meeting  is  larger  than  I thought 
it  would  be.  I knew  that  Herndon  and  myself  would 
come,  but  I did  not  know  that  anyone  else  would  be  here; 
and  yet  another  has  come  — you,  John  Pain.  These  are 


170  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


sad  times,  and  seem  out  of  joint.  All  seems  dead;  but 
the  age  is  not  yet  dead;  it  liveth  as  sure  as  our  Maker 
liveth.  Under  all  this  seeming  want  of  life  and  motion, 
the  world  does  move  nevertheless.  Be  hopeful.  And 
now  let  us  adjourn  and  appeal  to  the  people.’  ” 

The  National  convention  of  the  Republican  party  met 
at  Philadelphia  in  June,  1856,  and  adopted  a declaration 
of  principles  substantially  based  upon  those  of  the  Bloom- 
ington convention.  John  C.  Fremont  was  nominated  as 
candidate  for  President.  Among  the  names  presented 
for  Vice-president  was  that  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  who 
received  110  votes.  William  L.  Dayton  received  259 
votes  and  was  unanimously  declared  the  nominee.  Fre- 
mont and  Dayton  thus  became  the  standard-bearers  of 
the  new  national  party.  When  the  news  reached  Lincoln, 
in  Illinois,  that  he  had  received  110  votes  as  nominee  for 
the  Vice-presidency,  he  could  not  at  first  believe  that  he 
was  the  man  voted  for,  and  said,  “No,  it  could  not  be; 
it  must  have  been  the  great  Lincoln  of  Massachusetts!” 
He  was  then  in  one  of  his  melancholy  moods,  full  of 
depression  and  despondency. 

In  the  stirring  presidential  campaign  of  1856,  Lincoln 
was  particularly  active,  and  rendered  most  efficient 
service  to  the  Republican  party.  He  spoke  constantly, 
discussing  the  great  question  of  “slavery  in  the  terri- 
tories” in  a manner  at  once  original  and  masterly.  A 
graphic  picture  of  one  of  these  campaign  gatherings  is 
furnished  by  Hon.  William  Bross,  afterwards  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Illinois.  “I  first  met  Mr.  Lincoln,  to  know 
him,”  says  Governor  Bross,  “at  Vandalia,  the  old  capital 
of  the  State,  in  October,  1856.  There  was  to  be  a political 
meeting  in  front  of  the  old  State  House,  in  the  center  of 
the  square,  at  2 o’clock.  Soon  after  that  hour  the  sono- 
rous voice  of  Dr.  Curdy  rang  through  the  town : ‘ O,  yes ! 
O,  yes!  All  ye  who  want  to  hear  public  speaking,  draw 
near ! ’ The  crowd  at  once  began  to  gather  from  all  sides 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  171 


of  the  square.  The  Doctor  then  introduced  the  first 
speaker,  and  he  proceeded  to  make  the  best  presentation 
he  could  of  the  principles  of  the  newly-formed  Republican 
party,  and  the  reasons  why  Fremont,  ‘the  gallant  path- 
finder of  the  West,’  should  be  elected  President.  About 
the  time  the  first  speaker  closed  his  remarks,  Hon.  Eben- 
ezer  Peck  and  Abraham  Lincoln  arrived  and  took  the 
stand;  and  both  made  able  and  effective  speeches.  After 
that,  Lincoln  and  I frequently  met  during  the  canvass, 
and  often  afterwards  I spoke  with  him  from  the  same 
platform.  The  probable  result  of  an  election  was  often 
canvassed,  and  a noticeable  fact  was  that  in  most  cases 
he  would  mark  the  probable  result  below  rather  than 
above  the  actual  majority.” 

Some  lively  reminiscences  of  Lincoln’s  appearance 
and  efforts  in  this  campaign  are  given  by  Mr.  Noah 
Brooks,  the  well-known  journalist  and  author,  who  at 
that  time  lived  in  Northern  Illinois  and  attended  many 
of  the  great  Republican  mass-meetings.  “At  one  of  these 
great  assemblies  in  Ogle  County,”  says  Mr.  Brooks,  “to 
which  the  country  people  came  on  horseback,  in  farm 
wagons,  or  afoot,  from  far  and  near,  there  were  several 
speakers  of  local  celebrity.  Dr.  Egan  of  Chicago,  famous 
for  his  racy  stories,  was  one;  and  Joe  Knox  of  Bureau 
County,  a stump  speaker  of  renown,  was  another  attrac- 
tion. Several  other  orators  were  ‘on  the  bills’  for  this 
long-advertised  ‘Fremont  and  Dayton  rally,’  among 
them  being  a Springfield  lawyer  who  had  won  some 
reputation  as  a close  reasoner,  and  a capital  speaker  on 
the  stump.  This  was  Abraham  Lincoln,  popularly  known 
as  ‘Honest  Abe  Lincoln.’  In  those  days  he  was  not  so 
famous  in  our  part  of  the  State  as  the  two  speakers  whom 
I have  named.  Possibly  he  was  not  so  popular  among 
the  masses  of  the  people;  but  his  ready  wit,  his  unfailing 
good  humor,  and  the  candor  which  gave  him  his  character 
for  honesty,  won  for  him  the  admiration  and  respect  of 


172  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


all  who  heard  him.  I remember  once  meeting  a choleric 
old  Democrat  striding  away  from  an  open-air  meeting 
where  Lincoln  was  speaking,  striking  the  earth  with  his 
cane  as  he  stumped  along,  and  exclaiming,  ‘ He’s  a danger- 
ous man,  sir ! A d d dangerous  man ! He  makes  you 

believe  what  he  says,  in  spite  of  yourself!’  It  was  Lin- 
coln’s manner.  He  admitted  away  his  whole  case  ap- 
parently — and  yet,  as  his  political  opponents  complained, 
he  usually  carried  conviction  with  him.  As  he  reasoned 
with  his  audience,  he  bent  his  long  form  over  the  railing 
of  the  platform,  stooping  lower  and  lower  as  he  pursued 
his  argument,  until,  having  reached  his  point,  he  clinched 
it,  usually  with  a question,  and  then  suddenly  sprang 
upright,  reminding  one  of  the  springing  open  of  a jack- 
knife blade.  At  the  Ogle  County  meeting  to  which  I 
refer,  Lincoln  led  off,  the  raciest  speakers  being  reserved 
for  the  latter  part  of  the  political  entertainment.  I am 
bound  to  say  that  Lincoln  did  not  awaken  the  boisterous 
applause  which  some  of  those  who  followed  him  did,  but 
his  speech  made  a more  lasting  impression.  It  was 
talked  about  for  weeks  afterward  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  it  probably  changed  many  votes;  for  that  was  the 
time  when  Free-soil  votes  were  being  made  in  Northern 
Illinois.” 

Mr.  Brooks  had  made  Lincoln’s  acquaintance  early 
in  the  day  referred  to;  and  after  Lincoln  had  spoken, 
and  while  some  of  the  other  orators  were  entertaining 
the  audience,  the  two  drew  a little  off  from  the  crowd  and 
fell  into  a discussion  over  the  political  situation  and 
prospects.  “We  crawled  under  the  pendulous  branches 
of  a tree,”  says  Mr.  Brooks,  “and  Lincoln,  lying  flat  on 
the  ground,  with  his  chin  in  his  hands,  talked  on,  rather 
gloomily  as  to  the  present  but  absolutely  confident  as  to 
the  future.  I was  dismayed  to  find  that  he  did  not 
believe  it  possible  that  Fremont  could  be  elected.  As 
if  half  pitying  my  youthful  ignorance,  but  admiring  my 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  173 


enthusiasm,  he  said,  ‘Don’t  be  discouraged  if  we  don’t 
carry  the  day  this  year.  We  can’t  do  it,  that’s  certain. 
We  can’t  carry  Pennsylvania;  those  old  Whigs  down 
there  are  too  strong  for  us.  But  we  shall  sooner  or  later 
elect  our  President.  I feel  confident  of  that.’  ‘Do  you 
think  we  shall  elect  a Free-soil  President  in  I860?’  I asked. 
‘Well,  I don’t  know.  Everything  depends  on  the  course 
of  the  Democracy.  There’s  a big  anti-slavery  element 
in  the  Democratic  party,  and  if  we  could  get  hold  of  that 
we  might  possibly  elect  our  man  in  1860.  But  it’s  doubt- 
ful, very  doubtful.  Perhaps  we  shall  be  able  to  fetch  it 
by  1864;  perhaps  not.  As  I said  before,  the  Free-soil 
party  is  bound  to  win  in  the  long  run.  It  may  not  be  in 
my  day;  but  it  will  be  in  yours,  I do  really  believe.’  ” 
The  defeat  of  Fremont  soon  verified  Lincoln’s  prediction 
on  that  score. 

A peculiarly  interesting  episode  of  Lincoln’s  life  belongs 
to  this  period,  though  unrelated  to  political  events.  This 
was  the  meeting,  in  a professional  way,  with  Edwin  M. 
Stanton,  at  that  time  a prominent  lawyer  of  Pittsburgh, 
afterwards  the  great  War  Secretary  of  President  Lin- 
coln’s cabinet.  The  circumstances  were  briefly  these: 
Among  Lincoln’s  law  cases  was  one  connected  with  the 
patent  of  the  McCormick  Reaper;  and  in  the  summer  of 
1857  he  visited  Cincinnati  to  argue  the  case  before  Judge 
McLean  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court.  It  was  a 
case  of  great  importance,  involving  the  foundation 
patent  of  the  machine  which  was  destined  to  revolutionize 
the  harvesting  of  grain.  Reverdy  Johnson  was  on  one 
side  of  the  case,  and  E.  M.  Stanton  and  George  Harding 
on  the  other.  It  became  necessary,  in  addition,  to  have  a 
lawyer  who  was  a resident  of  Illinois;  and  inquiry  was 
made  of  Hon.  E.  B.  Washburne,  then  in  Congress,  as 
to  whether  he  knew  a suitable  man.  The  latter  replied 
that  “there  was  a man  named  Lincoln  at  Springfield,  who 
had  considerable  reputation  in  the  State.”  Lincoln  was 


174  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


retained  in  the  case,  and  came  on  to  Cincinnati  with  a 
brief.  Stanton  and  Harding  saw  in  their  associate  coun- 
sel “a  tall,  dark,  uncouth  man,  who  did  not  strike  them 
as  of  any  account,  and,  indeed,  they  gave  him  hardly 
any  chance.”  An  interesting  account  of  this  visit,  and 
of  various  incidents  connected  with  it,  has  been  prepared 
by  the  Hon.  W.  M.  Dickson  of  Cincinnati.  “Mr.  Lin- 
coln came  to  the  city,”  says  Mr.  Dickson,  “a  few  days 
before  the  argument  took  place,  and  remained  during  his 
stay  at  the  house  of  a friend.  The  case  was  one  of  large 
importance  pecuniarily,  and  in  the  law  questions  involved. 
Reverdy  Johnson  represented  the  plaintiff.  Mr.  Lincoln 
had  prepared  himself  with  the  greatest  care;  his  ambition 
was  to  speak  in  the  case,  and  to  measure  swords  with  the 
renowned  lawyer  from  Baltimore.  It  was  understood 
between  his  client  and  himself,  before  his  coming,  that 
Mr.  Harding  of  Philadelphia  was  to  be  associated  with 
him  in  the  case,  and  was  to  make  the  ‘mechanical  argu- 
ment.’ Mr.  Lincoln  was  a little  surprised  and  annoyed 
after  reaching  Cincinnati,  to  learn  that  his  client  had  also 
associated  with  him  Mr.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  of  Pitts- 
burgh, and  a lawyer  of  our  own  bar;  the  reason  assigned 
being  that  the  importance  of  the  case  required  a man 
of  the  experience  and  power  of  Mr.  Stanton  to  meet  Mr. 
Johnson.  The  reasons  given  did  not  remove  the  slight 
conveyed  in  the  employment,  without  consultation  with 
Lincoln,  of  this  additional  counsel.  He  keenly  felt  it, 
but  acquiesced.  The  trial  of  the  case  came  on;  the 
counsel  for  defense  met  each  morning  for  consultation. 
On  one  of  these  occasions  one  of  the  counsel  moved  that 
only  two  of  them  should  speak  in  the  case.  This  motion 
was  also  acquiesced  in.  It  had  always  been  understood 
that  Mr.  Harding  was  to  speak  to  explain  the  mechanism 
of  the  reapers.  So  this  motion  excluded  either  Mr.  Lin- 
coln or  Mr.  Stanton.  By  the  custom  of  the  bar,  as  be- 
tween counsel  of  equal  standing  and  in  the  absence  of 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  175 


any  action  of  the  client,  the  original  counsel  speaks.  By 
this  rule  Mr.  Lincoln  had  precedence.  Mr.  Stanton 
suggested  to  Mr.  Lincoln  to  make  the  speech.  Mr. 
Lincoln  answered,  ‘No;  you  speak,’  Mr.  Stanton  re- 
plied, ‘I  will,’  and  taking  up  his  hat,  said  he  would  go 
and  make  preparation.  Mr.  Lincoln  acquiesced  in  this, 
but  was  deeply  grieved  and  mortified;  he  took  but  little 
more  interest  in  the  case,  though  remaining  until  the 
conclusion  of  the  trial.  He  seemed  to  be  greatly  de- 
pressed, and  gave  evidence  of  that  tendency  to  melan- 
choly which  so  marked  his  character.  His  parting  on 
leaving  the  city  cannot  be  forgotten.  Cordially  shaking 
the  hand  of  his  hostess,  he  said:  ‘You  have  made  my 
stay  here  most  agreeable,  and  I am  a thousand  times 
obliged  to  you;  but  as  for  repeating  my  visit,  I must  say 
to  you  I never  expect  to  be  in  Cincinnati  again.  I have 
nothing  against  the  city,  but  things  have  so  happened 
here  as  to  make  it  undesirable  for  me  ever  to  return.’ 
Thus  untowardly  met  for  the  first  time,  Lincoln  and 
Stanton.  Little  did  either  then  suspect  that  they  were 
to  meet  again  on  a larger  theatre,  to  become  the  chief 
actors  in  a great  historical  epoch.” 

If  Lincoln  was  “surprised  and  annoyed”  at  the  treat- 
ment he  received  from  Stanton,  the  latter  was  no  less 
surprised,  and  a good  deal  more  disgusted,  on  seeing 
Lincoln  and  learning  of  his  connection  with  the  case.  He 
made  no  secret  of  his  contempt  for  the  “long,  lank  crea- 
ture from  Illinois,”  as  he  afterwards  described  him, 
“wearing  a dirty  linen  duster  for  a coat,  on  the  back  of 
which  the  perspiration  had  splotched  wide  stains  that 
resembled  a dirty  map  of  the  continent.”  He  blurted 
out  his  wrath  and  indignation  to  his  associate  counsel, 
declaring  that  if  “that  giraffe”  was  permitted  to  appear 
in  the  case  he  would  throw  up  his  brief  and  leave  it. 
Lincoln  keenly  felt  the  affront,  but  his  great  nature  for- 
gave it  so  entirely  that,  recognizing  the  singular  abilities 


176  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


of  Stanton  beneath  his  brusque  exterior,  he  afterwards, 
for  the  public  good,  appointed  him  to  a seat  in  his  cabinet. 

Lincoln,  says  Mr.  Dickson,  “remained  in  Cincinnati 
about  a week,  moving  freely  about.  Yet  not  twenty  men 
in  the  city  knew  him  personally,  or  knew  he  was  here; 
not  a hundred  would  have  known  who  he  was  had  his 
name  been  given  to  them.  He  came  with  the  fond  hope 
of  making  fame  in  a forensic  contest  with  Reverdy  John- 
son. He  was  pushed  aside,  humiliated  and  mortified. 
He  attached  to  the  innocent  city  the  displeasure  that 
filled  his  bosom,  and  shook  its  dust  from  his  feet.” 

In  his  Autobiography,  Moncure  D.  Conway  records  a 
glimpse  of  Lincoln  during  his  Cincinnati  visit  that  seems 
worth  transcribing.  “ One  warm  evening  in  1859,  passing 
through  the  market-place  in  Cincinnati,  I found  there 
a crowd  listening  to  a political  speech  in  the  open  air. 
The  speaker  stood  on  the  balcony  of  a small  brick  house, 
some  lamps  assisting  the  moonlight.  Something  about 
the  speaker,  and  some  words  that  reached  me,  led  me  to 
press  nearer.  I asked  the  speaker’s  name,  and  learned 
that  it  was  Abraham  Lincoln.  Browning’s  description  of 
the  German  professor,  ‘Three  parts  sublime  to  one  gro- 
tesque,’ was  applicable  to  this  man.  The  face  had  a 
battered  and  bronzed  look,  without  being  hard.  His  nose 
was  prominent,  and  buttressed  a strong  and  high  forehead. 
His  eyes  were  high-vaulted,  and  had  an  expression  of 
sadness;  his  mouth  and  chin  were  too  close  together,  the 
cheeks  hollow.  On  the  whole,  Lincoln’s  appearance  was 
not  attractive  until  one  heard  his  voice,  which  possessed 
variety  of  expression,  earnestness,  and  shrewdness  in  every 
tone.  The  charm  of  his  manner  was  that  he  had  no 
manner;  he  was  simple,  direct,  humorous.  He  pleasantly 
repeated  a mannerism  of  his  opponent,  — ‘This  is  what 
Douglas  calls  his  ‘ gur-reat  per-rinciple .’  But  the  next 
words  I remember  were  these:  ‘ Slavery  is  wrong .’” 


CHAPTER  XI 


The  Great  Lincoln-Douglas  Debate  — Rivals  for  the  U.  S.  Senate  — 
Lincoln’s  “ House-Divided-against-Itself  ” Speech  — An  Inspired 
Oration  — Alarming  His  Friends — Challenges  Douglas  to  a Joint 
Discussion  — The  Champions  Contrasted  — Their  Opinions  of  Each 
Other — Lincoln  and  Douglas  on  the  Stump  — Slavery  the  Leading 
Issue  — Scenes  and  Anecdotes  of  the  Great  Debate  — Pen-Picture 
of  Lincoln  on  the  Stump  — Humors  of  the  Campaign  — Some 
Sharp  Rejoinders  — Words  of  Soberness  — Close  of  the  Conflict. 

HE  year  1858  is  memorable  alike  in  the  career  of 


X Lincoln  and  in  the  political  history  of  the  country. 
It  was  distinguished  by  the  joint  discussions  between  the 
two  great  political  leaders  of  Illinois,  which  rank  among 
the  ablest  forensic  debates  that  have  taken  place  since 
the  foundation  of  the  republic.  The  occasion  was  one 
to  call  out  the  greatest  powers  of  the  two  remarkable 
men  who  there  contested  for  political  supremacy.  It 
was  not  alone  that  Lincoln  and  Douglas  were  opposing 
candidates  for  a high  office  — that  of  Senator  of  the 
United  States:  they  were  the  champions  and  spokesmen 
of  their  parties  at  a critical  period  when  great  issues 
were  to  be  discussed  and  great  movements  outlined  and 
directed.  It  was  naturally  expected  that  the  winner  in 
the  contest  would  become  the  political  leader  of  his  State. 
Little  was  it  imagined  that  the  loser  would  become  the 
leader  and  savior  of  the  Nation. 

On  the  21st  of  April  the  Democratic  convention  of 
Illinois  met  at  Springfield  and  announced  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  then  United  States  Senator,  as  its  choice  for 
another  term.  June  16  the  Republican  convention  met 
at  the  same  place  and  declared  unanimously  that  “Abra- 
ham Lincoln  is  our  first  and  only  choice  for  United  States 


178  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Senator  to  fill  the  vacancy  about  to  be  created  by  the 
expiration  of  Mr.  Douglas’s  term  of  office.”  For  a num- 
ber of  days  previous  to  the  meeting  of  the  Republican 
convention  Lincoln  had  been  engaged  in  preparing  a 
speech  for  the  occasion.  It  was  composed  after  his  usual 
method  — the  separate  thoughts  jotted  down  as  they 
came  to  him,  on  scraps  of  paper  at  hand  at  the  moment, 
and  these  notes  were  arranged  in  order  and  elaborated 
into  a finished  essay,  copied  on  large  sheets  of  paper  in  a 
plain  and  legible  handwriting.  This  was  the  speech 
which  afterwards  came  to  be  so  celebrated  as  the  “house- 
divided-against-itself  ” speech.  Lincoln  was  gravely  con- 
scious of  its  unusual  importance,  and  gave  great  care  and 
deliberation  to  its  composition.  The  evening  of  June  16 
— the  day  of  his  nomination  by  the  convention  — 
Lincoln  went  to  his  office,  accompanied  by  his  friend 
Herndon,  and  having  locked  the  door  proceeded  to  read 
his  speech.  Slowly  and  distinctly  he  read  the  first  para- 
graph, and  then  turned  to  Herndon  with,  “What  do  you 
think  of  that?”  Mr.  Herndon  was  startled  at  its  bold- 
ness. “I  think,”  said  he,  “it  is  all  true.  But  is  it  entirely 
politic  to  read  or  speak  it  as  it  is  written?  ” “That  makes 
no  difference,”  said  Lincoln.  “That  expression  is  a 
truth  of  all  human  experience,  — ‘ a house  divided  against 
itself  cannot  stand.’  The  proposition  is  indisputably 
true,  and  has  been  true  for  more  than  six  thousand  years; 
I want  to  use  some  universally  known  figure,  expressed 
in  simple  language,  that  may  strike  home  to  the  minds  of 
men  in  order  to  rouse  them  to  the  peril  of  the  times.” 
Mr.  Herndon  was  convinced  by  Lincoln’s  language,  and 
advised  him  to  deliver  the  speech  just  as  it  was  written. 
Lincoln  was  satisfied,  but  thought  it  would  be  prudent 
to  consult  a few  other  friends  in  the  matter,  and  about  a 
dozen  were  called  in.  “After  seating  them  at  the  round 
table,”  says  John  Armstrong,  one  of  the  number,  “he 
read  that  clause  or  section  of  his  speech  which  reads,  ‘a 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  179 


house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand,’  etc.  He  read 
it  slowly  and  cautiously,  so  as  to  let  each  man  fully  under- 
stand it.  After  he  had  finished  the  reading,  he  asked 
the  opinions  of  his  friends  as  to  the  wisdom  or  policy  of 
it.  Every  man  among  them  condemned  the  speech  in 
substance  and  spirit,  especially  that  section  quoted  above, 
as  unwise  and  impolitic  if  not  untrue.  They  unani- 
mously declared  that  the  whole  speech  was  too  far  in 
advance  of  the  times.  Herndon  sat  still  while  they  were 
giving  their  respective  opinions  of  its  unwisdom  and 
impolicy;  then  he  sprang  to  his  feet  and  said,  ‘Lincoln, 
deliver  it  just  as  it  reads.  If  it  is  in  advance  of  the  times, 
let  us  lift  the  people  to  its  level.  The  speech  is  true,  wise, 
and  politic,  and  will  succeed  now  or  in  the  future.  Nay, 
it  will  aid  you,  if  it  will  not  make  you  President  of  the 
United  States.’  Mr.  Lincoln  sat  still  a moment,  then 
rose  from  his  chair,  walked  backwards  and  forwards  in 
the  hall,  stopped,  and  said:  ‘Friends,  I have  thought 
about  this  matter  a great  deal,  have  weighed  the  questions 
from  all  corners,  and  am  thoroughly  convinced  the  time 
has  come  when  this  speech  should  be  uttered;  and  if  it 
be  that  I must  go  down  because  of  it,  then  let  me  go 
down  linked  to  truth  — die  in  the  advocacy  of  what  is 
right  and  just.  This  nation  cannot  live  on  injustice;  “a 
house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand,”  I say  again 
and  again.’  This  was  spoken  with  emotion  — the  effects 
of  his  love  of  truth,  and  sorrow  from  the  disagreement 
of  his  friends.” 

On  the  next  evening  the  speech  was  delivered  to  an 
immense  audience  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives at  Springfield.  “The  hall  and  lobbies  and  galleries 
were  even  more  densely  crowded  and  packed  than  at  any 
time  during  the  day,”  says  the  official  report;  and  as 
Lincoln  “approached  the  speaker’s  stand,  he  was  greeted 
with  shouts  and  hurrahs,  and  prolonged  cheers.”  The 
prophetic  sentences  which  dropped  first  from  the  lips  of 


180  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


the  speaker  were  freighted  with  a solemn  import  which 
even  he  could  scarcely  have  divined  in  full.  The  seers 
of  old  were  not  more  inspired  than  he  who  now,  out  of 
the  irresistible  conviction  of  his  heart,  said  to  his  surprised 
and  unbelieving  listeners: 

If  we  could  first  know  where  we  are  and  whither  we  are 
tending,  we  could  then  better  judge  what  to  do  and  how 
to  do  it.  We  are  now  far  on  in  the  fifth  year  since  a policy 
was  initiated  with  the  avowed  object  and  confident 
promise  of  putting  an  end  to  slavery  agitation.  Under 
the  operation  of  that  policy,  that  agitation  has  not  only  not 
ceased,  but  has  constantly  augmented.  In  my  opinion 
it  will  not  cease  until  a crisis  shall  have  been  reached  and 
passed.  ‘A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand.’ 
I believe  this  Government  cannot  endure,  permanently, 
half  slave  and  half  free.  I do  not  expect  the  Union  to  be 
dissolved  — I do  not  expect  the  house  to  fall  — but  I do 
expect  it  will  cease  to  be  divided.  It  will  become  all  one 
thing  or  all  the  other.  Either  the  opponents  of  slavery 
will  arrest  the  further  spread  of  it,  and  place  it  where  the 
public  mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  course  of 
ultimate  extinction,  or  its  advocates  will  push  it  forward 
till  it  shall  become  alike  lawful  in  all  the  States  — old  as 
well  as  new  — North  as  well  as  South. 

Mr.  Jeriah  Bonham,  an  old  citizen  of  Illinois,  relates 
that  he  was  present  as  a delegate  at  the  Springfield  con- 
vention and  heard  the  famous  speech  of  Lincoln.  Ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Bonham,  “The  speech  was  prepared  with 
unusual  care,  every  paragraph  and  sentence  carefully 
weighed.  The  firm  bedrock  of  principles,  the  issues  of 
the  campaign  on  which  he  proposed  to  stand  and  fight 
his  battles,  were  all  well  considered,  and  his  arguments 
were  incontrovertible.  In  that  memorable  speech  cul- 
minated all  the  grand  thoughts  he  had  ever  uttered, 
embodying  divinity,  statesmanship,  law,  and  morals,  and 
even  fraught  with  prophecy.  As  he  advanced  in  this 
argument  he  towered  to  his  full  height,  forgetting  himself 
entirely  as  he  grew  warm  in  his  work.  Men  and  women 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  181 


who  heard  that  speech  well  remember  the  wonderful 
transformation  wrought  in  Lincoln’s  appearance.  The 
plain,  homely  man  towered  up  majestically;  his  face  lit 
as  with  angelic  light;  the  long,  bent,  angular  figure,  like 
the  strong  oak  of  the  forest,  stood  erect,  and  his  eyes 
flashed  with  the  fire  of  inspiration.” 

The  party  that  had  nominated  Lincoln  for  the  Senate 
was  not  prepared  to  endorse  his  restriction  of  the  coming 
struggle  to  the  single  issue  of  the  slavery  question.  His 
friends  dreaded  the  result  of  his  uncompromising  frank- 
ness, while  politicians  quite  generally  condemned  it. 
Even  so  stanch  a friend  as  Leonard  Swett,  whose  devo- 
tion to  Lincoln  never  wavered  throughout  his  whole 
career,  shared  these  apprehensions.  Says  Mr.  Swett: 
“The  first  ten  lines  of  that  speech  defeated  him.  The 
sentiment  of  the  ‘house  divided  against  itself’  seemed 
wholly  inappropriate.  It  was  a speech  made  at  the  com- 
mencement of  a campaign,  and  apparently  made  for  the 
campaign.  Viewing  it  in  this  light  alone,  nothing  could 
have  been  more  unfortunate  or  inappropriate.  It  was 
saying  the  wrong  thing  first;  yet  he  felt  that  it  was  an 
abstract  truth,  and  that  standing  by  the  speech  would 
ultimately  find  him  in  the  right  place.  I was  inclined  at 
the  time  to  believe  these  words  were  hastily  and  incon- 
siderately uttered;  but  subsequent  facts  have  convinced 
me  they  were  deliberate  and  had  been  well  matured.” 

A few  days  after  the  delivery  of  this  speech,  a gentle- 
man named  Dr.  Long  called  on  Lincoln  and  gave  him 
a foretaste  of  the  remarks  he  was  to  hear  during  the 
next  few  months.  “Well,  Lincoln,”  said  he,  “that  foolish 
speech  of  yours  will  kill  you  — will  defeat  you  in  this 
contest,  and  probably  for  all  offices  for  all  time  to  come. 
I am  sorry,  sorry,  very  sorry.  I wish  it  was  wiped  out 
of  existence.  Don’t  you  wish  so  too?”  Laying  down 
the  pen  with  which  he  had  been  writing,  and  slowly 
raising  his  head  and  adjusting  his  spectacles,  Lincoln 


182  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


replied:  “Well,  Doctor,  if  I had  to  draw  a pen  across  and 
erase  my  whole  life  from  existence,  and  I had  one  poor 
gift  or  choice  left  as  to  what  I should  save  from  the 
wreck,  I should  choose  that  speech,  and  leave  it  to  the 
world  unerased.” 

The  Senatorial  campaign  was  now  well  begun.  Douglas 
opened  it  by  a speech  at  Chicago  on  the  9th  of  July. 
Lincoln  was  present,  and  on  the  next  evening  spoke  in 
reply  from  the  same  place  — the  balcony  of  the  Tremont 
House.  A week  later  Douglas  spoke  at  Bloomington,  with 
Lincoln  again  in  the  audience.  The  notion  of  a joint 
discussion  seems  to  have  originated  with  Lincoln,  who  on 
the  24th  of  July  addressed  a note  to  Douglas  as  follows: 

Hon.  S.  A.  Douglas  — My  Dear  Sir:  — Will  it  be 
agreeable  to  you  to  make  an  arrangement  for  you  and 
myself  to  divide  time,  and  address  the  same  audiences 
during  the  present  canvass?  Mr.  Judd,  who  will  hand 
you  this,  is  authorized  to  receive  your  answer,  and,  if 
agreeable  to  you,  to  enter  into  the  terms  of  such  arrange- 
ment. Your  obedient  servant,  a.  Lincoln. 

The  result  of  this  proposal  was  an  agreement  that  there 
should  be  a joint  discussion  between  the  two  candidates 
in  each  of  the  seven  Congressional  districts  in  which  they 
had  not  both  already  been  heard.  Places  were  named 
and  dates  fixed  extending  to  the  middle  of  October.  It 
was  agreed  that  the  opening  speech  on  each  occasion 
should  occupy  one  hour;  the  reply,  one  hour  and  a half; 
the  close,  half  an  hour;  and  that  Mr.  Douglas  should  have 
the  first  and  last  voice  in  four  of  the  seven  meetings. 

The  champions  who  were  thus  to  enter  the  lists  in  a 
decisive  trial  of  forensic  strength  and  skill  are  forcibly 
contrasted  by  Mr.  Speed,  who  says:  “They  were  the 
respective  leaders  of  their  parties  in  the  State.  They 
were  as  opposite  in  character  as  they  were  unlike  in  their 
persons.  Lincoln  was  long  and  ungainly;  Douglas  was 
short  and  compact.  Douglas,  in  all  elections,  was  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  183 


moving  spirit  and  manager.  He  was  content  with 
nothing  short  of  a blind  submission  to  himself.  He 
could  not  tolerate  opposition  to  his  will  within  his  party 
organization.  He  held  the  reins  and  controlled  the 
movements  of  the  Democratic  chariot.  With  a large 
State  majority,  with  many  able  and  ambitious  men  in  it, 
he  stepped  to  the  front  in  his  youth  and  held  his  place  till 
his  death.  Lincoln,  on  the  other  hand,  shrank  from  any 
controversy  with  his  friends.  His  party  being  in  a minority 
in  the  State,  he  was  forced  to  the  front  because  his  friends 
thought  he  was  the  only  man  with  whom  they  could  win. 
In  a canvass  his  friends  had  to  do  all  the  management. 
He  knew  nothing  of  how  to  reach  the  people  except  by 
addressing  their  reason.  If  the  situation  had  been  re- 
versed — Lincoln  representing  the  majority  and  Douglas 
the  minority  — I think  it  most  likely  Lincoln  would 
never  have  had  the  place.  He  had  no  heart  for  a fight 
with  friends.” 

The  Hon.  James  G.  Blaine  has  given  a masterly  de- 
scription and  analysis  of  the  comparative  powers  of  the 
two  illustrious  debaters.  Douglas,  says  Mr.  Blaine, 
“was  everywhere  known  as  a debater  of  singular  skill. 
His  mind  was  fertile  in  resources.  He  was  a master  of 
logic.  No  man  perceived  more  quickly  than  he  the 
strength  or  the  weakness  of  an  argument,  and  no  one 
excelled  him  in  the  use  of  sophistry  and  fallacy.  Where 
he  could  not  elucidate  a point  to  his  own  advantage,  he 
would  fatally  becloud  it  for  his  opponent.  In  that 
peculiar  style  of  debate  which  in  intensity  resembles  a 
physical  combat,  he  had  no  equal.  He  spoke  with  extraor- 
dinary readiness.  There  was  no  halting  in  his  phrase. 
He  used  good  English,  terse,  vigorous,  pointed.  He 
disregarded  the  adornments  of  rhetoric  — rarely  used  a 
simile.  He  was  utterly  destitute  of  humor,  and  had 
slight  appreciation  of  wit.  He  never  cited  historical 
precedents  except  from  the  domain  of  American  politics. 


184  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Inside  that  field  his  knowledge  was  comprehensive, 
minute,  critical;  beyond  it  his  learning  was  limited.  He 
was  not  a reader.  His  recreations  were  not  in  literature. 
In  the  whole  range  of  his  voluminous  speaking,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  either  a line  of  poetry  or  a classical 
allusion.  But  he  was  by  nature  an  orator,  and  by  long 
practice  a debater.  He  could  lead  a crowd  almost  irre- 
sistibly to  his  own  conclusions.  He  could,  if  he  wished, 
incite  a mob  to  desperate  deeds.  He  was,  in  short,  an 
able,  audacious,  almost  unconquerable  opponent  in 
public  discussion.  It  would  have  been  impossible  to 
find  any  man  of  the  same  type  able  to  meet  him  before 
the  people  of  Illinois.  Whoever  attempted  it  would 
probably  have  been  destroyed  in  the  first  encounter. 
But  the  man  who  was  chosen  to  meet  him,  who  chal- 
lenged him  to  the  combat,  was  radically  different  in  every 
phase  of  character.  Scarcely  could  two  men  be  more 
unlike  in  mental  and  moral  constitution  than  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  Lincoln  was  calm  and 
philosophic.  He  loved  the  truth  for  the  truth’s  sake. 
He  would  not  argue  from  a false  premise,  or  be  deceived 
himself  or  deceive  others  by  a false  conclusion.  He  had 
pondered  deeply  on  the  issues  which  aroused  him  to 
action.  He  had  given  anxious  thought  to  the  problems 
of  free  government,  and  to  the  destiny  of  the  Republic. 
He  had  marked  out  a path  of  duty  for  himself,  and  he 
walked  it  fearlessly.  His  mental  processes  were  slower 
but  more  profound  than  those  of  Douglas.  He  did  not 
seek  to  say  merely  the  thing  which  was  best  for  that 
day’s  debate,  but  the  thing  which  would  stand  the  test 
of  time  and  square  itself  with  eternal  justice.  He  wished 
nothing  to  appear  white  unless  it  was  white.  His  logic 
was  severe  and  faultless.  He  did  not  resort  to  fallacy, 
and  could  detect  it  in  his  opponent  and  expose  it  with 
merciless  directness.  He  had  an  abounding  sense  of 
humor,  and  always  employed  it  in  illustration  of  his 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  185 


argument  — but  never  for  the  mere  sake  of  provoking 
merriment.  In  this  respect  he  had  the  wonderful  aptness 
of  Franklin.  He  often  taught  a great  truth  with  the  felici- 
tous brevity  of  an  iEsop  fable.  His  words  did  not  flow  in 
an  impetuous  torrent,  as  did  those  of  Douglas;  but  they 
were  always  well  chosen,  deliberate  and  conclusive.” 

Mr.  Arnold,  in  the  course  of  an  extended  comparison, 
says:  “At  the  time  of  these  discussions,  both  Lincoln  and 
Douglas  were  in  the  full  maturity  of  their  powers.  Doug- 
las was  forty-five  and  Lincoln  forty-nine  years  of  age. 
Physically  and  mentally,  they  were  as  unlike  as  possible. 
Douglas  was  short,  not  much  more  than  five  feet  high, 
with  a large  head,  massive  brain,  broad  shoulders,  a wide, 
deep  chest,  and  features  strongly  marked.  He  impressed 
every  one,  at  first  sight,  as  a strong,  sturdy,  resolute, 
fearless  man.  Lincoln’s  herculean  stature  has  already 
been  described.  A stranger  who  listened  to  him  for  five 
minutes  would  say:  ‘This  is  a kind,  genial,  sincere, 
genuine  man;  a man  you  can  trust,  plain,  straightforward, 
honest,  and  true.’  If  this  stranger  were  to  hear  him  make 
a speech,  he  would  be  impressed  with  his  clear  good  sense, 
by  his  wit  and  humor,  by  his  general  intelligence,  and  by 
the  simple,  homely,  but  pure  and  accurate  language  he 
used.  In  his  long  residence  at  Washington,  Douglas 
had  acquired  the  bearing  and  manners  of  a gentleman 
and  a man  of  the  world.  But  he  was  always  a fascinating 
and  attractive  man,  and  always  and  everywhere  person- 
ally popular.  He  had  been  for  years  carefully  and 
thoroughly  trained  on  the  stump,  in  Congress,  and  in  the 
Senate,  to  meet  in  debate  the  ablest  speakers  in  the  State 
and  Nation.  For  years  he  had  been  accustomed  to  meet 
on  the  floor  of  the  Capitol  the  leaders  of  the  old  Whig 
and  Free-soil  parties.  Among  them  were  Webster  and 
Seward,  Fessenden  and  Crittenden,  Chase,  Trumbull, 
Hale  and  others  of  nearly  equal  eminence;  and  his  en- 
thusiastic friends  insisted  that  never,  either  in  single 


186  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


conflict  or  when  receiving  the  assault  of  the  senatorial 
leaders  of  a whole  party,  had  he  been  discomfited.  His 
style  was  bold,  vigorous,  and  aggressive;  at  times  even 
defiant.  He  was  ready,  fluent,  fertile  in  resources,  famil- 
iar with  national  and  party  history,  severe  in  denunciation, 
and  he  handled  with  skill  nearly  all  the  weapons  of  debate. 
His  iron  will  and  restless  energy,  together  with  great 
personal  magnetism,  made  him  the  idol  of  his  friends 
and  party.  His  long,  brilliant,  and  almost  universally 
successful  career,  gave  him  perfect  confidence  in  himself, 
and  at  times  he  was  arrogant  and  overbearing.  . . . 
Lincoln  also  was  a thoroughly  trained  speaker.  He  had 
met  successfully,  year  after  year,  at  the  bar  and  on  the 
stump,  the  ablest  men  of  Illinois  and  the  Northwest, 
including  Lamborn,  Stephen  T.  Logan,  John  Calhoun, 
and  many  others.  He  had  contended,  in  generous 
emulation,  with  Hardin,  Baker,  Logan,  and  Browning; 
and  had  very  often  met  Douglas,  a conflict  with  whom 
he  always  courted  rather  than  shunned.  His  speeches, 
as  we  read  them  to-day,  show  a more  familiar  knowledge 
of  the  slavery  question  than  those  of  any  other  states- 
man of  our  country.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  Peoria 
speech  and  the  Cooper  Institute  speech.  Lincoln  was 
powerful  in  argument,  always  seizing  the  strong  points, 
and  demonstrating  his  propositions  with  a clearness  and 
logic  approaching  the  certainty  of  mathematics.  He  had, 
in  wit  and  humor,  a great  advantage  over  Douglas.  Then 
he  had  the  better  temper;  he  was  always  good  humored, 
while  Douglas,  when  hard  pressed,  was  sometimes  irritable. 
Douglas  perhaps  carried  away  the  more  popular  applause ; 
Lincoln  made  the  deeper  and  more  lasting  impression. 
Douglas  did  not  disdain  an  immediate  ad  captandum 
triumph;  while  Lincoln  aimed  at  permanent  conviction. 
Sometimes,  when  Lincoln’s  friends  urged  him  to  raise  a 
storm  of  applause,  which  he  could  always  do  by  his  happy 
illustrations  and  amusing  stories,  he  refused,  saying, 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  187 


‘The  occasion  is  too  serious;  the  issues  are  too  grave.  I 
do  not  seek  applause,  or  to  amuse  the  people,  but  to 
convince  them.’  It  was  observed  in  the  canvass  that 
while  Douglas  was  greeted  with  the  loudest  cheers,  when 
Lincoln  closed  the  people  seemed  serious  and  thoughtful, 
and  could  be  heard  all  through  the  crowd,  gravely  and 
anxiously  discussing  the  subjects  on  which  he  had  been 
speaking.” 

Soon  after  the  arrangements  for  the  debate  had  been 
made,  Senator  Douglas  visited  Alton,  Illinois.  A dele- 
gation of  prominent  Democrats  there  paid  their  respects 
to  him,  and  during  the  conversation  one  of  them  con- 
gratulated Douglas  on  the  easy  task  he  would  have  in 
defeating  Lincoln;  at  the  same  time  expressing  surprise 
at  the  champion  whom  he  had  selected.  Douglas  replied : 
“Gentlemen,  you  do  not  know  Mr.  Lincoln.  I have 
known  him  long  and  well,  and  I know  that  I shall  have 
anything  but  an  easy  task.  I assure  you  I would  rather 
meet  any  other  man  in  the  country  than  Abraham  Lincoln .” 
This  was  Douglas’s  mature  opinion  of  the  man  of  whom, 
years  before,  he  had  said,  in  his  characteristic  way:  “Of 
all  the  d — — d Whig  rascals  about  Springfield,  Abe 
Lincoln  is  the  ablest  and  honestest.”  On  another  occa- 
sion, Douglas  said:  “I  have  known  Lincoln  for  nearly 
twenty-five  years.  There  were  many  points  of  sympathy 
between  us  when  we  first  got  acquainted.  We  were  both 
comparatively  boys,  and  both  struggling  with  poverty 
in  a strange  land.  I was  a school-teacher  in  the  town  of 
Winchester,  and  he  a flourishing  grocery-keeper  in  the 
town  of  Salem.  He  was  more  successful  in  his  occupation 
than  I was  in  mine,  and  hence  more  fortunate  in  the 
world’s  goods.  Lincoln  is  one  of  those  peculiar  men  who 
perform  with  admirable  skill  everything  they  undertake. 
I made  as  good  a school-teacher  as  I could,  and  when  a 
cabinet-maker  I made  as  good  bedsteads  and  tables  as  I 
could  — although  my  old  boss  says  that  I succeeded 


188  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


better  with  bureaus  and  secretaries  than  with  anything 
else.  But  I believe  that  Lincoln  was  always  more  suc- 
cessful in  business  than  I,  for  his  business  enabled  bim  to 
get  into  the  Legislature.  I met  him  there,  however,  and 
had  a sympathy  with  him  because  of  the  up-hill  struggle 
we  both  had  had  in  life.  He  was  then  just  as  good  at 
telling  an  anecdote  as  now.  He  could  beat  any  of  the 
boys  in  wrestling  or  running  a foot-race,  in  pitching  quoits 
or  pitching  a copper;  and  the  dignity  and  impartiality 
with  which  he  presided  at  a horse-race  or  fist-fight  ex- 
cited the  admiration  and  won  the  praise  of  everybody 
that  was  present.  I sympathized  with  him  because  he 
was  struggling  with  difficulties,  and  so  was  I.  Mr. 
Lincoln  served  with  me  in  the  Legislature  of  1836;  then 
we  both  retired,  and  he  subsided,  or  became  submerged, 
and  was  lost  sight  of  as  a public  man  for  some  years.  In 
1846,  when  Wilmot  introduced  his  celebrated  proviso, 
and  the  Abolition  tornado  swept  over  the  country,  Lincoln 
again  turned  up  as  a Member  of  Congress  from  the  Sanga- 
mon district.  I was  then  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  and  was  glad  to  welcome  my  old  friend.” 

Lincoln,  in  a speech  delivered  two  years  before  the  joint 
debate,  had  spoken  thus  of  Senator  Douglas:  “Twenty-two 
years  ago,  Judge  Douglas  and  I first  became  acquainted; 
we  were  both  young  then  — he  a trifle  younger  than  I. 
Even  then,  we  were  both  ambitious  — I perhaps  quite 
as  much  as  he.  With  me,  the  race  of  ambition  has  been 
a failure  — a flat  failure;  with  him,  it  has  been  one  of 
splendid  success.  His  name  fills  the  nation,  and  is  not 
unknown  even  in  foreign  lands.  I affect  no  contempt  for 
the  high  eminence  he  has  reached;  so  reached  that  the 
oppressed  of  my  species  might  have  shared  with  me  in 
the  elevation,  I would  rather  stand  on  that  eminence 
than  wear  the  richest  crown  that  ever  pressed  a monarch’s 
brow.” 

A few  days  before  the  first  discussion  was  to  take  place, 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  189 


Lincoln,  who  had  become  conscious  that  some  of  his  party 
friends  distrusted  his  ability  to  meet  successfully  a man 
who,  as  the  Democrats  declared  and  believed,  had  never 
had  his  equal  on  the  stump,  met  an  old  friend  from 
Vermilion  County,  and,  shaking  hands,  inquired  the 
news.  His  friend  replied,  “All  looks  well;  our  friends 
are  wide  awake,  but  they  are  looking  forward  with  some 
anxiety  to  these  approaching  joint  discussions  with 
Douglas.”  A shade  passed  over  Lincoln’s  face,  a sad 
expression  came  and  instantly  passed,  and  then  a blaze  of 
light  flashed  from  his  eyes,  and  with  his  lips  compressed 
and  in  a manner  peculiar  to  him,  half  serious  and  half 
jocular,  he  said:  “My  friend,  sit  down  a minute,  and 
I will  tell  you  a story.  You  and  I,  as  we  have  travelled 
the  circuit  together  attending  court,  have  often  seen  two 
men  about  to  fight.  One  of  them,  the  big  or  the  little 
giant,  as  the  case  may  be,  is  noisy  and  boastful;  he  jumps 
high  in  the  air,  strikes  his  feet  together,  smites  his  fists, 
brags  about  what  he  is  going  to  do,  and  tries  hard  to 
‘sheer’  the  other  man.  The  other  man  says  not  a word; 
his  arms  are  at  his  side,  his  fists  are  clenched,  his  teeth 
set,  his  head  settled  firmly  on  his  shoulders;  he  saves  his 
breath  and  strength  for  the  struggle.  This  man  will  whip, 
as  sure  as  the  fight  comes  off.  Good-bye,  and  remember 
what  I say.” 

The  spirit  and  purpose  witfi  which  Lincoln  went  into 
the  contest  are  shown  also  in  the  following  words:  “I  shall 
not  ask  any  favors  at  all.  Judge  Douglas  asks  me  if  I 
wish  to  push  this  matter  to  the  point  of  personal  difficulty. 
I tell  him,  No!  He  did  not  make  a mistake,  in  one  of 
his  early  speeches,  when  he  called  me  an  ‘amiable’  man, 
though  perhaps  he  did  when  he  called  me  an  ‘intelligent’ 
man.  I again  tell  him,  No!  I very  much  prefer,  when 
this  canvass  shall  be  over,  however  it  may  result,  that  we 
at  least  part  without  any  bitter  recollections  of  personal 
difficulties.” 


190  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


The  speeches  in  these  joint  discussions  were  entirely 
extemporaneous  in  form,  yet  they  were  reported  and 
printed  in  all  the  prominent  papers  in  the  West,  and 
found  eager  readers  throughout  the  country.  The  voice 
and  manner,  which  add  so  much  to  the  effect  of  a speaker, 
could  not  be  reproduced  on  the  printed  page;  nor  could 
full  justice  be  done,  in  a hasty  transcript,  to  the  force 
and  fitness  of  the  language  employed.  Still,  the  impres- 
sions of  those  who  heard  them  at  the  time,  as  well  as  later 
and  cooler  analyses  of  them,  have  agreed  in  pronouncing 
these  debates  among  the  most  able  and  interesting  on 
record.  The  scenes  connected  with  the  different  meetings 
were  intensely  exciting.  Vast  throngs  were  invariably 
in  attendance,  while  a whole  nation  was  watching  the 
result.  “At  Freeport,”  says  an  observer,  “Mr.  Douglas 
appeared  in  an  elegant  barouche  drawn  by  four  white 
horses,  and  was  received  with  great  applause.  But  when 
Mr.  Lincoln  came  up,  in  a ‘prairie  schooner,’  — an  old- 
fashioned  canvas-covered  pioneer  wagon,  — the  enthu- 
siasm of  the  vast  throng  was  unbounded.” 

At  Charleston  Lincoln  opened  and  closed  the  day’s 
debate.  It  was  the  fourth  discussion,  and  there  was 
no  more  doubt  of  his  ability  to  sustain  the  conflict.  Ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Arnold,  “Douglas’s  reply  to  Lincoln  was 
mainly  a defense.  Lincoln’s  close  was  intensely  interest- 
ing and  dramatic.  His  logic  and  arguments  were  crush- 
ing, and  Douglas’s  evasions  were  exposed  with  a power 
and  clearness  that  left  him  utterly  discomfited.  Repub- 
licans saw  it.  Democrats  realized  it,  and  a sort  of  panic 
seized  them,  and  ran  through  the  crowd  of  upturned 
faces.  Douglas  realized  his  defeat,  and,  as  Lincoln’s 
blows  fell  fast  and  heavy,  he  lost  his  temper.  He  could 
not  keep  his  seat;  he  rose  and  walked  rapidly  up  and 
down  the  platform,  behind  Lincoln,  holding  his  watch 
in  his  hand,  and  obviously  impatient  for  the  call  of  ‘time.’ 
A spectator  says:  ‘He  was  greatly  agitated,  his  long 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  191 


grizzled  hair  waving  in  the  wind,  like  the  shaggy  locks  of 
an  enraged  lion.’  It  was  while  Douglas  was  thus  exhibit- 
ing to  the  crowd  his  eager  desire  to  stop  Lincoln,  that  the 
latter,  holding  the  audience  entranced  by  his  eloquence, 
was  striking  his  heaviest  blows.  The  instant  the  second- 
hand of  his  watch  reached  the  point  at  which  Lincoln’s 
time  was  up,  Douglas,  holding  up  the  watch,  called  out: 
‘Sit  down,  Lincoln,  sit  down!  Your  time  is  up!’  Turn- 
ing to  Douglas,  Lincoln  said  calmly:  ‘I  will.  I will  quit. 
I believe  my  time  is  up.’  ‘Yes,’  said  a voice  from  the 
platform,  ‘Douglas  has  had  enough;  it  is  time  you  let 
up  on  him.’ 

The  institution  of  slavery  was,  of  course,  the  topic 
around  which  circled  all  the  arguments  in  these  joint 
discussions.  It  was  the  great  topic  of  the  hour  — the 
important  point  of  division  between  the  Republican  and 
Democratic  parties.  Lincoln’s  exposition  of  the  subject 
was  profound  and  masterly.  At  the  meeting  in  Quincy 
the  issue  was  defined  and  the  argument  driven  home 
with  unsparing  logic  and  directness.  In  closing  the 
debate,  he  said: 

I wish  to  return  to  Judge  Douglas  my  profound  thanks 
for  his  public  annunciation  here  to-day,  to  be  put  on 
record,  that  his  system  of  policy  in  regard  to  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  contemplates  that  it  shall  last  forever.  We 
are  getting  a little  nearer  the  true  issue  of  this  contro- 
versy, and  I am  profoundly  grateful  for  this  one  sentence. 
Judge  Douglas  asks  you,  ‘Why  cannot  the  institution  of 
slavery,  or,  rather,  why  cannot  the  nation,  part  slave  and 
part  free,  continue  as  our  fathers  made  it  forever?’  In 
the  first  place,  I insist  that  our  fathers  did  not  make  this 
nation  half  slave  and  half  free,  or  part  slave  and  part 
free.  I insist  that  they  found  the  institution  of  slavery 
existing  here.  They  did  not  make  it  so,  but  they  left  it 
so,  because  they  knew  of  no  way  to  get  rid  of  it  at  that 
time.  When  Judge  Douglas  undertakes  to  say  that,  as  a 
matter  of  choice,  the  fathers  of  the  Government  made 
this  nation  part  slave  and  part  free,  he  assumes  what  is 


192  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


historically  a falsehood.  More  than  that;  when  the 
fathers  of  the  Government  cut  off  the  source  of  slavery 
by  the  abolition  of  the  slave-trade,  and  adopted  a system 
of  restricting  it  from  the  new  Territories  where  it  had 
not  existed,  I maintain  that  they  placed  it  where  they 
understood,  and  all  sensible  men  understood,  it  was  in 
the  course  of  ultimate  extinction;  and  when  Judge 
Douglas  asks  me  why  it  cannot  continue  as  our  fathers 
made  it,  I ask  him  why  he  and  his  friends  could  not  let 
it  remain  as  our  friends  made  it?  It  is  precisely  all  I ask 
of  him  in  relation  to  the  institution  of  slavery,  that  it 
shall  be  placed  upon  the  basis  that  our  fathers  placed  it 
upon.  Mr.  Brooks,  of  South  Carolina,  once  said,  and 
truly  said,  that  when  this  Government  was  established, 
no  one  expected  the  institution  of  slavery  to  last  until 
this  day;  and  that  the  men  who  formed  this  Government 
were  wiser  and  better  than  the  men  of  these  days;  but 
the  men  of  these  days  had  experience  which  the  fathers 
had  not,  and  that  experience  had  taught  them  the  inven- 
tion of  the  cotton-gin,  and  this  had  made  the  perpetuation 
of  the  institution  of  slavery  a necessity  in  this  coun- 
try. Judge  Douglas  could  not  let  it  stand  upon  the  basis 
on  which  our  fathers  placed  it,  but  removed  it,  and  put 
it  upon  the  cotton-gin  basis.  It  is  a question,  therefore, 
for  him  and  his  friends  to  answer  — why  they  could  not 
let  it  remain  where  the  fathers  of  the  Government 
originally  placed  it. 

In  these  debates  Lincoln  often  seemed  like  one  trans- 
figured — carried  away  by  his  own  eloquence  and  the 
force  of  his  conviction.  He  said  to  a friend  during  the 
canvass:  “Sometimes,  in  the  excitement  of  speaking,  I 
seem  to  see  the  end  of  slavery.  I feel  that  the  time  is 
soon  coming  when  the  sun  shall  shine,  the  rain  shall 
fall,  on  no  man  who  shall  go  forth  to  unrequited  toil. 

. . . How  this  will  come,  when  it  will  come,  by  whom 
it  will  come,  I cannot  tell;  — but  that  time  will  surely 
come.”  Again,  at  the  first  encounter  at  Alton,  he  uttered 
these  pregnant  sentences: 

On  this  subject  of  treating  slavery  as  a wrong,  and 
limiting  its  spread,  let  me  say  a word.  Has  anything 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  193 


ever  threatened  the  existence  of  this  Union  save  and 
except  this  very  institution  of  slavery?  What  is  it  that 
we  hold  most  dear  among  us?  Our  own  liberty  and 
prosperity.  What  has  ever  threatened  our  liberty  and 
prosperity,  save  and  except  this  institution  of  slavery? 
If  this  is  true,  how  do  you  propose  to  improve  the  condi- 
tion of  things  by  enlarging  slavery?  — by  spreading  it 
out  and  making  it  bigger?  You  may  have  a wen  or 
cancer  upon  your  person,  and  not  be  able  to  cut  it  out 
lest  you  bleed  to  death;  but  surely  it  is  no  way  to  cure 
it  to  ingraft  it  and  spread  it  over  your  whole  body  — that 
is  no  proper  way  of  treating  what  you  regard  a wrong. 
This  peaceful  way  of  dealing  with  it  as  a wrong  — restrict- 
ing the  spread  of  it,  and  not  allowing  it  to  go  into  new 
countries  where  it  has  not  already  existed  ■ — that  is  the 
peaceful  way,  the  old-fashioned  way,  the  way  in  which 
the  fathers  themselves  set  us  the  example.  Is  slavery 
wrong?  That  is  the  real  issue.  That  is  the  issue  that 
will  continue  in  this  country  when  these  poor  tongues  of 
Judge  Douglas  and  myself  shall  be  silent.  It  is  the 
eternal  struggle  between  these  two  principles  — right 
and  wrong  — throughout  the  world.  They  are  two 
principles  that  have  stood  face  to  face  from  the  beginning 
of  time;  and  will  ever  continue  to  struggle.  The  one  is 
the  common  right  of  humanity,  and  the  other  the  divine 
right  of  kings.  It  is  the  same  principle,  in  whatever 
shape  it  develops  itself.  It  is  the  same  spirit  that  says: 
‘You  work,  and  toil,  and  earn  bread,  and  I’ll  eat  it.’ 
No  matter  in  what  shape  it  comes,  whether  from  the 
mouth  of  a king  who  seeks  to  bestride  the  people  of  his 
own  nation  and  live  by  the  fruit  of  their  labor,  or  from 
one  race  of  men  as  an  apology  for  enslaving  another  race, 
it  is  the  same  tyrannical  principle. 

On  still  another  occasion  he  used  these  unmistakable 
words : 

My  declarations  upon  this  subject  of  negro  slavery  may 
be  misrepresented,  but  cannot  be  misunderstood.  I have 
said  that  I do  not  understand  the  Declaration  to  mean 
that  all  men  were  created  equal  in  all  respects.  They  are 
not  our  equal  in  color.  But  I suppose  that  it  does  mean 
to  declare  that  all  men  are  created  equal  in  some  respects; 


194  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


they  are  equal  in  their  right  to  ‘life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness.’  Certainly  the  negro  is  not  our 
equal  in  color,  perhaps  not  in  many  other  respects;  still, 
in  the  right  to  put  into  his  mouth  the  bread  that  his  own 
hands  have  earned,  he  is  the  equal  of  every  other  man,  white 
or  black. 

It  is  not  in  the  scope  of  this  narrative  to  print  extended 
quotations  from  the  speeches  made  in  this  memorable 
contest,  but  rather  to  give  such  reminiscences  and  anec- 
dotes, and  description  by  eye-witnesses,  as  will  best  serve 
to  bring  the  scenes  and  actors  vividly  to  mind.  Fortu- 
nately, many  such  records  are  still  in  existence,  and  from 
them  some  most  entertaining  personal  accounts  have 
been  obtained.  Among  these  is  an  impressive  pen- 
picture  of  Lincoln  on  the  stump,  as  admirably  sketched  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  George  C.  Noyes,  of  Chicago.  “Mr.  Lin- 
coln in  repose,”  says  Dr.  Noyes,  “was  a very  different 
man  in  personal  appearance  from  Mr.  Lincoln  on  the 
platform  or  on  the  stump,  when  his  whole  nature  was 
roused  by  his  masterful  interest  in  the  subject  of  his 
discourse.  In  the  former  case  he  was,  as  has  often  been 
described,  a man  of  awkward  and  ungainly  appearance 
and  exceedingly  homely  countenance.  In  the  latter  case, 
he  was  a man  of  magnificent  presence  and  remarkably 
impressive  manner.  The  writer  retains  to  this  day  a very 
vivid  impression  of  his  appearance  in  both  these  charac- 
ters, and  both  on  the  same  day.  It  was  in  Jacksonville, 
in  the  summer  of  1858,  and  during  the  great  contest  with 
Douglas,  when  the  prize  contended  for  was  a seat  in  the 
United  States  Senate.  The  day  was  warm;  the  streets 
were  dusty,  and  filled  with  great  crowds  of  people.  When 
Lincoln  arrived  on  the  train  from  Springfield,  he  was  met 
by  an  immense  procession  of  people  on  horseback,  in 
carriages,  in  wagons  and  vehicles  of  every  description, 
and  on  foot,  who  escorted  him  through  the  principal 
streets  to  his  hotel.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  multitude 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  195 


was  great;  but  Lincoln’s  extremely  homely  face  wore  an 
expression  of  sadness.  He  rode  in  a carriage  near  the 
head  of  the  procession,  looking  dust-begrimed  and  worn 
and  weary;  and  though  he  frequently  lifted  his  hat  in 
recognition  of  the  cheers  of  the  crowds  lining  the  streets, 
I saw  no  smile  on  his  face,  and  he  seemed  to  take  no 
pleasure  in  the  demonstrations  of  enthusiasm  which  his 
presence  called  forth.  His  clothes  were  very  ill-fitting, 
and  his  long  arms  and  hands  protruded  far  through  his 
coat  sleeves,  giving  him  a peculiarly  uncouth  appearance. 
Though  I had  often  seen  him  before,  and  had  heard  him 
in  court  — always  with  delight  in  his  clearness  and 
cogency  of  statement,  his  illuminating  humor,  and  his 
conspicuous  fairness  and  candor  — yet  I had  never  before 
seen  him  when  he  appeared  so  homely;  and  I thought 
him  about  the  ugliest  man  I had  ever  seen.  There  was 
nothing  in  his  looks  or  manner  that  was  prepossessing. 
Such  he  appeared  as  he  rode  in  the  procession  on  the  fore- 
noon of  that  warm  summer  day.  His  appearance  was 
not  different  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  when,  in  the 
public  square,  he  first  stood  before  the  great  multitude 
who  had  assembled  there  to  hear  him.  His  powers  were 
aroused  gradually  as  he  went  on  with  his  speech.  There 
was  much  play  of  humor.  ‘Judge  Douglas  has,’  he  said, 
‘one  great  advantage  of  me  in  this  contest.  When  he 
stands  before  his  admiring  friends,  who  gather  in  great 
numbers  to  hear  him,  they  can  easily  see,  with  half  an 
eye,  all  kinds  of  fat  offices  sprouting  out  of  his  fat  and 
jocund  face,  and,  indeed,  from  every  part  of  his  plump 
and  well-rounded  body.  His  appearance  is  therefore 
irresistibly  attractive.  His  friends  expect  him  to  be 
President,  and  they  expect  their  reward.  But  when  I 
stand  before  the  people,  not  the  sharpest  vision  is  able 
to  detect  in  my  lean  and  lank  person,  or  in  my  sunken 
and  hollow  cheeks,  the  faintest  sign  or  promise  of  an  office. 
I am  not  a candidate  for  the  Presidency,  and  hence  there 


196  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


is  no  beauty  in  me  that  men  should  desire  me.’  The 
crowd  was  convulsed  with  laughter  at  this  sally.  As  the 
speech  went  on,  the  speaker,  though  often  impressing  his 
points  with  apposite  and  laughter-provoking  stories,  grew 
more  and  more  earnest.  He  showed  that  the  government 
was  founded  in  the  interest  of  freedom,  not  slavery.  He 
traced  the  steady  aggressions  of  the  slave  power  step  by 
step,  until  he  came  to  declare  and  to  dwell  upon  the  fact 
of  the  irrepressible  conflict  between  the  two.  Then,  as 
he  went  on  to  show,  with  wonderful  eloquence  of  speech 
and  of  manner,  that  the  country  must  and  would  ulti- 
mately become,  not  all  slave,  but  all  free,  he  was  trans- 
figured before  his  audience.  His  homely  countenance 
fairly  glowed  with  the  splendor  of  his  prophetic  speech; 
and  his  body,  no  longer  awkward  and  ungainly,  but 
mastered  and  swayed  by  his  thought,  became  an  obedient 
and  graceful  instrument  of  eloquent  expression.  The 
whole  man  seemed  to  speak.  He  seemed  like  some  grand 
Hebrew  prophet,  whose  face  was  glorified  by  the  bright 
visions  of  a better  day  which  he  saw  and  declared.  His 
eloquence  was  not  merely  that  of  clear  and  luminous 
statement,  felicitous  illustration,  or  excited  yet  restrained 
feeling;  it  was  the  eloquence  also  of  thought.  With  some- 
thing of  the  imaginative,  he  united  rare  dialectic  power. 
He  felt  the  truth  before  he  expounded  it;  but  when  once 
it  was  felt  by  him,  then  his  logical  power  came  into  re- 
markably effective  play.  Step  by  step  he  led  his  hearers 
onward,  till  at  last  he  placed  them  on  the  summit  whence 
they  could  see  all  the  landscape  of  his  subject  in  harmo- 
nious and  connected  order.  Of  these  two  contrasted 
pictures  of  Lincoln,  it  is  only  the  last  which  shows  him  as 
he  was  in  his  real  and  essential  greatness.  And  not  this 
fully;  for  it  was  in  his  character  that  he  was  greatest. 
He  was  not  merely  a thinker,  but  a thinker  for  man, 
directing  his  thought  to  the  ends  of  justice,  freedom,  and 
humanity.  If  he  desired  and  sought  high  position,  it 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  197 


was  only  that  he  might  thus  better  serve  the  cause  of 
freedom  to  which  he  was  devoted.  From  the  time  when 
he  withdrew,  in  a spirit  of  magnanimity  that  was  never 
appreciated,  in  favor  of  a rival  candidate  for  the  United 
States  Senate,  it  was  evident  that  the  cause  was  more  to 
him  than  any  personal  advantage  or  advancement.” 

Another  graphic  description  of  Lincoln’s  • appearance 
and  manner  on  the  stump  is  given  by  Mr.  Jeriah 
Bonham,  whose  account  of  the  famous  “ house-divided- 
against-itself  ” speech  has  already  found  a place  in  this 
narrative.  “When  Mr.  Lincoln  took  the  stand,”  says 
Mr.  Bonham,  “he  did  not,  on  rising,  show  his  full  height, 
but  stood  in  a stooping  posture,  his  long-tailed  coat 
hanging  loosely  around  his  body,  and  descending  over 
an  ill-fitting  pair  of  pantaloons  that  covered  his  not  very 
symmetrical  legs.  He  began  his  speech  in  a rather  diffi- 
dent manner,  seeming  for  awhile  at  a loss  for  words;  his 
voice  was  irregular,  even  a little  tremulous,  as  he  began 
his  argument.  As  he  proceeded  he  seemed  to  gain  more 
confidence,  his  form  straightened  up,  his  face  brightened, 
his  language  became  free  and  animated.  Soon  he  had 
drawn  the  attention  of  the  crowd  by  two  or  three  well- 
told  stories  that  illustrated  his  argument;  and  then  he 
became  eloquent,  carrying  his  audience  at  will,  as  tumul- 
tuous applause  greeted  every  telling  point  he  made.” 

Mrs.  John  A.  Logan,  in  her  “Recollections  of  a Soldier’s 
Wife,”  says:  “I  always  like  to  think  of  Mr.  Lincoln  as  he 
was  when  I saw  him  with  the  eyes  of  an  opponent.  His 
awkwardness  has  not  been  exaggerated,  but  it  gave  no 
effect  of  self-consciousness.  There  was  something  about 
his  ungainliness  and  his  homely  face  which  would  have 
made  anyone  who  simply  passed  him  in  the  street  remem- 
ber him.  His  very  awkwardness  was  an  asset  in  public 
life,  in  that  it  attracted  attention  to  him.  Douglas,  on 
the  other  hand,  won  by  the  magnetism  of  his  personality. 
Lincoln  did  not  seem  to  have  any  magnetism,  though  of 


198  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


course  he  actually  did  have  the  rarest  and  most  precious 
kind.  Give  Mr.  Lincoln  five  minutes  and  Mr.  Douglas 
five  minutes  before  an  audience  which  knew  neither,  and 
Mr.  Douglas  would  make  the  greater  impression.  But 
give  them  each  an  hour,  and  the  contrary  would  be 
true.” 

In  the  party  that  attended  Lincoln  in  the  Senatorial 
campaign  was  the  Hon.  Andrew  Shuman,  afterwards 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  Illinois  and  one  of  the  veteran 
journalists  of  Chicago.  Mr.  Shuman  was  detailed  to 
report  the  joint  debates  for  his  paper;  and  he  accompanied 
Lincoln  through  nearly  all  of  the  campaign,  travelling 
with  him  by  night  — sometimes  occupying  the  same 
room,  and  when  in  crowded  quarters  the  same  bed.  He 
thus  saw  much  of  Lincoln,  and  had  the  best  of  oppor- 
tunities for  studying  his  character;  not  only  hearing  all 
his  public  speeches,  but  having  long  conversations  with 
him  in  private,  and  listening  to  the  stories,  anecdotes, 
and  gay  or  grave  discourse  by  which  the  journeys  and  the 
frequent  “waits”  were  enlivened.  The  group  consisted 
of  several  gentlemen,  including  Norman  B.  Judd  of  Chi- 
cago, afterwards  a member  of  Congress;  Robert  R.  Hitt, 
who  was  Lincoln’s  shorthand  reporter,  afterwards  member 
of  Congress  from  Illinois;  Mr.  Villard,  later  the  President 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  then  a newspaper  cor- 
respondent; Mr.  Shuman;  and,  at  various  times,  other 
politicians  and  journalists.  Of  this  party  Lincoln  was 
always  the  leading  spirit  in  conversation.  He  would  tell 
stories  himself,  and  draw  out  stories  from  others;  and  his 
laugh,  though  not  the  loudest,  was  always  the  heartiest. 
Then  he  would  pass  to  soberer  themes,  and  discuss  them 
with  a tinge  of  that  melancholy  which,  however  he  might 
be  surrounded,  never  seemed  far  distant  from  him.  At 
night,  stopping  at  the  country  tavern  or  at  some  friend’s 
house,  the  evenings  would  be  spent  in  discussion  and 
story-telling,  or  perhaps  in  a humorous  review  of  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  199 


events  of  the  day;  and  after  retiring,  Lincoln  would 
entertain  his  companion,  often  far  into  the  night,  dis- 
coursing on  many  varied  subjects,  - — politics,  literature, 
views  of  human  life  and  character,  or  the  prominent  men 
and  measures  then  before  the  country. 

One  day,  according  to  Governor  Shuman,  Lincoln 
had  been  announced  to  speak  in  a town  in  the  extreme 
southern  part  of  Illinois,  in  the  very  heart  of  “Egypt,” 
where  there  was  a strong  pro-slavery  sentiment;  and  it 
was  feared  there  might  be  trouble,  as  Lincoln’s  anti- 
slavery tendencies  were  well  known.  To  make  matters 
worse,  a party  of  Kentuckians  and  Missourians  had  come 
over  to  attend  the  meeting,  and  it  was  noised  about  that 
they  would  not  allow  Lincoln  to  speak.  He  heard  of  it, 
and  both  he  and  his  friends  were  somewhat  apprehensive 
of  trouble.  The  place  of  the  meeting  was  a grove  in  the 
edge  of  the  town,  the  speakers  occupying  an  improvised 
stand.  The  gathering  was  a large  one,  and  it  had  every 
appearance  of  a Southern  crowd.  It  was  customary  in 
those  times  for  the  men  in  that  section  of  the  country  to 
carry  pistols  and  ugly-looking  knives  strapped  to  their 
persons,  on  public  occasions.  It  was  a semi-barbarous 
community,  and  their  hatred  of  the  Abolitionists,  as 
they  called  all  anti-slavery  men,  was  as  intense  as  was 
their  love  of  bad  whiskey.  Lincoln  privately  told  his 
friends,  who  in  that  locality  were  very  few  in  number, 
that  “if  only  they  will  give  me  a fair  chance  to  say  a few 
opening  words,  I’ll  fix  them  all  right.”  Before  mounting 
the  speaker’s  stand  he  was  introduced  to  many  of  the 
crowd,  and  shook  their  hands  in  the  usual  Western  way. 
Getting  a small  company  of  the  rough-looking  fellows 
around  him,  he  opened  on  them.  “Fellow-citizens  of 
Southern  Illinois  — fellow-citizens  of  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky — fellow-citizens  of  Missouri,”  he  said,  in  a tone 
more  of  conversation  than  of  oratory,  looking  them 
straight  in  the  eye,  “I  am  told  that  there  are  some  of 


200  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


you  here  present  who  would  like  to  make  trouble  for  me. 
I don’t  understand  why  they  should.  I am  a plain,  com- 
mon man,  like  the  rest  of  you;  and  why  should  not  I have 
as  good  a right  to  speak  my  sentiments  as  the  rest  of  you? 
Why,  good  friends,  I am  one  of  you;  I am  not  an  inter- 
loper here!  I was  born  in  Kentucky,  raised  in  Illinois, 
just  like  the  most  of  you,  and  worked  my  way  right  along 
by  hard  scratching.  I know  the  people  of  Kentucky, 
and  I know  the  people  of  Southern  Illinois,  and  I think  I 
know  the  Missourians.  I am  one  of  them,  and  therefore 
ought  to  know  them,  and  they  ought  to  know  me  better, 
and  if  they  did  know  me  better  they  would  know  that  I 
am  not  disposed  to  make  them  trouble;  then  why  should 
they,  or  any  one  of  them,  want  to  make  trouble  for  me? 
Don’t  do  any  such  foolish  thing,  fellow-citizens.  Let  us 
be  friends,  and  treat  each  other  like  friends.  I am  one 
of  the  humblest  and  most  peaceable  men  in  the  world  — 
would  wrong  no  man,  would  interfere  with  no  man’s 
rights;  and  all  I ask  is  that,  having  something  to  say,  you 
will  give  me  a decent  hearing.  And,  being  Illinoisans, 
Kentuckians,  and  Missourians  — brave  and  gallant  peo- 
ple — I feel  sure  that  you  will  do  that.  And  now  let  us 
reason  together,  like  the  honest  fellows  we  are,”  Having 
uttered  these  words,  his  face  the  very  picture  of  good- 
nature and  his  voice  full  of  sympathetic  earnestness,  he 
mounted  the  speaker’s  stand  and  proceeded  to  make  one 
of  the  most  impressive  speeches  against  the  further 
extension  of  slavery  that  he  ever  made  in  his  life.  He 
was  listened  to  attentively;  was  applauded  when  he 
indulged  in  flashes  of  humor,  and  once  or  twice  his  elo- 
quent passages  were  lustily  cheered.  His  little  opening 
remarks  had  calmed  the  threatening  storm,  had  con- 
quered his  enemies,  and  he  had  smooth  sailing.  From 
that  day  to  the  time  of  his  death,  Abraham  Lincoln 
held  a warm  place  in  the  respect  of  very  many  of  those 
rough  and  rude  “Egyptians,”  and  he  had  no  warmer 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  201 


supporters  for  the  Presidency,  or  while  he  was  President, 
than  they  were. 

Mr.  Leonard  Volk,  the  sculptor  who  afterwards  made 
an  excellent  bust  of  Lincoln,  says:  “My  first  meeting 
with  Abraham  Lincoln  was  in  1858,  when  the  celebrated 
Senatorial  contest  opened  between  him  and  Stephen  A. 
Douglas.  I was  invited  by  the  latter  to  accompany  him 
and  his  party  by  a special  train  to  Springfield,  to  which 
train  was  attached  a platform-car  having  on  board  a 
cannon,  which  made  considerable  noise  on  the  journey. 
At  Bloomington  we  all  stopped  over  night,  as  Douglas 
had  a speech  to  make  there  in  the  evening.  The  party 
went  to  the  Landon  House  — the  only  hotel,  I believe, 
in  the  place  at  that  time.  While  we  were  sitting  in  the 
hotel  office  after  supper,  Mr.  Lincoln  entered,  carrying 
an  old  carpet-bag  in  his  hand,  and  wearing  a weather- 
beaten silk  hat  — too  large,  apparently,  for  his  head  — 
a long,  loosely-fitting  frock-coat  of  black  alpaca,  and  vest 
and  trousers  of  the  same  material.  He  walked  up  to 
the  counter,  and,  saluting  the  clerk  pleasantly,  passed 
the  bag  over  to  him,  and  inquired  if  he  was  too  late  for 
supper.  The  clerk  replied  that  supper  was  over,  but 
perhaps  enough  could  be  ‘scraped  up’  for  him.  ‘All 
right,’  said  Mr.  Lincoln;  ‘I  don’t  want  much.’  Mean- 
while, he  said,  he  would  wash  the  dust  off.  He  was 
certainly  very  dusty;  it  was  the  month  of  June,  and  quite 
warm.  While  he  was  so  engaged,  several  old  friends, 
who  had  learned  of  his  arrival,  rushed  in  to  see  him,  some 
of  them  shouting,  ‘How  are  you.  Old  Abe?’  Mr.  Lincoln 
grasped  them  by  the  hand  in  his  cordial  manner,  with 
the  broadest  and  pleasantest  smile  on  his  rugged  face. 
This  was  the  first  good  view  I had  of  the  ‘coming  man.’ 
The  next  day  we  all  stopped  at  the  town  of  Lincoln,  where 
short  speeches  were  made  by  the  contestants,  and  dinner 
was  served  at  the  hotel;  after  which,  as  Mr.  Lincoln  came 
out  on  the  plank-walk  in  front,  I was  formally  presented 


202  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


to  him.  He  saluted  me  with  his  natural  cordiality,  grasp- 
ing my  hand  in  both  his  large  hands  with  a vice-like  grip, 
and  looking  down  into  my  face  with  his  beaming,  dark, 
full  eyes,  said : ‘How  do  you  do?  I am  glad  to  meet  you. 
I have  read  of  you  in  the  papers.  You  are  making  a 
statue  of  Judge  Douglas  for  Governor  Matteson’s  new 
house.’  ‘Yes,  sir,’  I answered;  ‘and  sometime  when 
you  are  in  Chicago,  and  can  spare  the  time,  I would  like 
to  have  you  sit  to  me  for  a bust.’  ‘Yes,  I will,  Mr.  Volk; 
I shall  be  glad  to,  the  first  opportunity  I have.’  All  were 
soon  on  board  the  long  train,  crowded  with  people,  going 
to  hear  the  speeches  at  Springfield.  The  train  stopped 
on  the  track,  near  Edward’s  Grove,  in  the  northern  out- 
skirts of  the  town,  where  staging  was  erected  and  a vast 
crowd  waited  under  the  shade  of  the  trees.  On  leaving 
the  train,  most  of  the  passengers  climbed  over  the  fences 
and  crossed  the  stubble-field,  taking  a short-cut  to  the 
grove,  — among  them  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  stalked  forward 
alone,  taking  immense  strides,  the  before-mentioned  car- 
pet-bag  and  an  umbrella  in  his  hands,  and  his  coat 
skirts  flying  in  the  breeze.  I managed  to  keep  pretty 
close  in  the  rear  of  the  tall,  gaunt  figure,  with  the  head 
craned  forward,  apparently  much  over  the  balance,  like 
the  Leaning  Tower  of  Pisa,  that  was  moving  something 
like  a hurricane  across  that  rough  stubble-field.” 

The  contest  between  Lincoln  and  Douglas  seemed  to 
be,  as  expressed  by  Dr.  Newton  Bateman,  “one  between 
sharpness  and  greatness.”  Lincoln  seemed  to  Dr.  Bate- 
man, “a  man  strongly  possessed  by  a belief  to  which 
he  was  earnestly  striving  to  win  the  people  over;  while 
the  aim  of  Mr.  Douglas  seemed  rather  to  be  simply 
to  defeat  Mr.  Lincoln.”  Yet,  although  Lincoln  was 
usually  earnest  and  considerate  of  his  opponent,  he  could, 
when  occasion  required,  bring  his  powers  of  humor  and 
sarcasm  into  play  in  a very  effective  manner.  A few 
pointed  illustrations  may  be  given.  In  his  speech  at 

A 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  203 


Galesburg,  Douglas  sneeringly  informed  the  citizens  that 
“Honest  Abe”  had  been  a liquor-seller.  Lincoln  met 
this  with  the  candid  admission  that  once  in  early  life  he 
had,  under  the  pressure  of  poverty,  accepted  and  for  a 
few  months  held  a position  in  a store  where  it  was  neces- 
sary for  him  to  retail  liquor.  “But  the  difference  between 
Judge  Douglas  and  myself  is  just  this,”  he  added,  “that 
while  I was  behind  the  bar,  he  was  in  front  of  it.” 

At  the  close  of  the  joint  discussion  at  Alton,  Douglas  led 
off  with  a speech  an  hour  long,  in  which  he  showed  no 
little  irritability.  The  campaign  was  evidently  wearing 
on  him.  Lincoln,  on  the  contrary,  was  in  capital  spirits. 
“He  sat  taking  in  the  speech  of  Douglas  with  seeming 
immobility,”  says  Mr.  Jeriah  Bonham,  who  was  present, 
“and  when  it  was  ended,  he  rose  to  reply.  As  in  the 
opening  of  all  his  speeches,  he  spoke  slowly,  did  not  rise 
to  his  full  height,  leaning  forward  in  a stooping  posture 
at  first,  his  person  showing  all  the  angularities  of  limb  and 
face.  For  the  first  five  or  ten  minutes  he  was  both 
awkward  and  diffident,  as  in  almost  monotonous  tones  he 
began  to  untangle  the  meshes  of  Douglas’s  sophistry. 
Proceeding,  he  gained  confidence  gradually;  his  voice 
rang  out  strong  and  clear;  his  tall  form  towered  to  its 
full  height;  his  face  grew  radiant  with  impassioned  feeling, 
as  he  poured  forth  an  outburst  of  crushing  argument  and 
inspiring  eloquence.  The  people  became  wild  with 
enthusiasm,  but  his  voice  rang  loud  above  their  cheers. 
Frequently  in  his  speech  he  would  turn  toward  Douglas, 
and  say  with  emphasis,  ‘You  know  these  things  are  so, 
Mr.  Douglas!’  or  ‘You  know  these  things  are  not  so,  Mr. 
Douglas!’  At  one  time  he  bent  his  long  body  over  his 
adversary,  pouring  in  his  arguments  so  sharply,  that 
Douglas,  chafing  under  the  attack,  rose  to  explain;  but 
Lincoln  would  not  allow  it.  ‘ Sit  down,  Mr.  Doug- 
las!’ said  he  peremptorily.  ‘I  did  not  interrupt  you, 
and  you  shall  not  interrupt  me.  You  will  have  oppor- 


204  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


tunity  to  reply  to  me  — if  you  can  — in  your  closing 
speech.’  ” 

A good  story  is  told  of  the  occasion  on  which  Lincoln  and 
Douglas  spoke  in  Chicago.  A well-known  citizen  who  on 
account  of  his  age  was  known  familiarly  as  “Father 
Brewster”  — a man  of  standing,  and  a member  of  the 
Board  of  Education  — was  one  of  the  listeners  on  the 
platform.  Lincoln  admired  the  old  gentleman  very 
much,  and  the  admiration  was  mutual.  They  sat  to- 
gether while  Douglas  made  the  opening  speech.  He  spoke 
for  more  than  an  hour,  and  never  more  brilliantly.  When 
Lincoln’s  turn  came  he  could  see  that  Father  Brewster 
was  exceedingly  anxious  as  to  the  outcome.  Lincoln 
arose,  let  out  all  the  joints  in  his  long  body,  slowly  removed 
his  overcoat  and  laid  it  across  Mr.  Brewster’s  knees. 
“Father  Brewster,”  he  said,  “will  you  hold  my  overcoat 
while  I stone  Stephen?”  Everybody  shouted  and  cheered, 
and  even  Douglas  joined  in  the  laugh  at  his  own  expense. 

Beneath  the  humors  and  excitements  of  the  campaign, 
the  prevailing  tone  of  Lincoln’s  thought  was  deeply  serious 
and  reflective.  Toward  the  close,  when  indications 
pointed  to  his  defeat  for  the  Senate,  he  seemed  somewhat 
depressed,  and  occasionally  his  old  habitual  melancholy 
would  steal  over  him  and  impart  to  his  words  a touching 
pathos.  On  such  an  occasion,  in  one  of  the  smaller  cities 
of  Illinois,  Douglas,  having  the  first  speech,  made  an 
unusually  brilliant  effort.  He  carried  the  crowd  with 
him;  and  when  Lincoln  rose  to  reply,  it  was  evident  that 
he  felt  his  disadvantage  - — felt,  too,  that  do  what  he  would 
final  defeat  was  probable.  He  made  a good  speech,  but 
not  one  of  his  best.  Concluding  his  argument,  he  stopped 
and  stood  silent  for  a moment,  looking  around  upon  the 
throng  of  half-indifferent,  half-friendly  faces  before  him, 
with  »those  deep-sunken  weary  eyes  that  always  seemed 
full  of  unshed  tears.  Folding  his  hands,  as  if  they  too 
were  tired  of  the  hopeless  fight,  he  said,  in  his  peculiar 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  205 


monotone:  “My  friends,  it  makes  little  difference,  very 
little  difference,  whether  Judge  Douglas  or  myself  is 
elected  to  the  United  States  Senate;  but  the  great  issue 
which  we  have  submitted  to  you  to-day  is  far  above  and 
beyond  any  personal  interests  or  the  political  fortunes  of 
any  man.  And,  my  friends,  that  issue  will  live  and 
breathe  and  burn  when  the  poor,  feeble,  stammering 
tongues  of  Judge  Douglas  and  myself  are  silent  in  the 
grave.”  The  crowd  swayed  as  if  smitten  by  a mighty 
wind.  The  simple  words,  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
were  spoken,  touched  every  heart  to  the  core. 

Lincoln  spoke  in  all  about  fifty  times  during  the  cam- 
paign. At  its  close,  says  Mr.  Arnold,  “both  Douglas 
and  Lincoln  visited  Chicago.  Douglas  was  so  hoarse 
that  he  could  hardly  articulate,  and  it  was  painful  to  hear 
him  attempt  to  speak.  Lincoln’s  voice  was  clear  and 
vigorous,  and  he  really  seemed  in  better  tone  than  usual. 
His  dark  complexion  was  bronzed  by  the  prairie  sun  and 
winds;  his  eye  was  clear,  his  step  firm,  and  he  looked  like 
a trained  athlete,  ready  to  enter,  rather  than  one  who 
had  closed,  a conflict.” 

Of  the  speeches  in  this  campaign,  Mr.  Henry  J.  Ray- 
mond, the  distinguished  journalist,  pronounced  the  fol- 
lowing well-considered  opinion:  “While  Douglas  fully 
sustained  his  previous  reputation,  and  justified  the  esti- 
mate his  friends  had  placed  upon  his  abilities,  he  labored 
under  the  comparative  disadvantage  of  being  much  better 
known  to  the  country  at  large  than  was  his  antagonist. 
During  his  long  public  career,  people  had  become  partially 
accustomed  to  his  manner  of  presenting  arguments  and 
enforcing  them.  The  novelty  and  freshness  of  Lincoln’s 
addresses,  on  the  other  hand,  the  homeliness  and  force 
of  his  illustrations,  their  wonderful  pertinence,  his  ex- 
haustless humor,  his  confidence  in  his  own  resources, 
engendered  by  his  firm  belief  in  the  justice  of  the  cause 
he  so  ably  advocated,  never  once  rising,  however,  to  the 


206  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


point  of  arrogance  or  superciliousness,  fastened  upon  him 
the  eyes  of  the  people  everywhere,  friends  and  opponents 
alike.  It  was  not  strange  that  more  than  once,  during 
the  course  of  the  unparalleled  excitement  which  marked 
this  canvass,  Douglas  should  have  been  thrown  off  his 
guard  by  the  singular  self-possession  displayed  by  his 
antagonist,  and  by  the  imperturbable  firmness  with  which 
he  maintained  and  defended  a position  once  taken.  The 
unassuming  confidence  which  marked  Lincoln’s  conduct 
was  early  imparted  to  his  supporters,  and  each  succeed- 
ing encounter  added  largely  to  the  number  of  his  friends, 
until  they  began  to  indulge  the  hope  that  a triumph  might 
be  secured  in  spite  of  the  adverse  circumstances  under 
which  the  struggle  was  commenced.” 

Samuel  Bowles,  editor  of  the  Springfield  (Mass.)  “Re- 
publican,” said  that  Lincoln  “handled  Douglas  as  he 
would  an  eel  — by  main  strength.  Sometimes,  perhaps,  he 
handled  him  so  strongly  that  he  slipped  through  his  fingers.” 

“In  this  canvass,”  says  Mr.  Lamon,  “Mr.  Lincoln 
earned  a reputation  as  a popular  debater  second  to  that 
of  no  man  in  America  — certainly  not  second  to  that  of 
his  famous  antagonist.  He  kept  his  temper;  he  was  not 
prone  to  personalities;  he  was  fair,  frank,  and  manly; 
and,  if  the  contest  had  shown  nothing  else,  it  would  have 
shown  at  least  that  ‘ Old  Abe  ’ could  behave  like  a gentle- 
man under  very  trying  circumstances.  His  marked 
success  in  these  discussions  was  probably  no  surprise  to 
the  people  of  the  Springfield  district,  who  knew  him  as 
well  as  they  did  Mr.  Douglas,  or  even  better.  But  in 
the  greater  part  of  the  State,  and  throughout  the  Union, 
the  series  of  brilliant  victories  successively  won  by  an 
obscure  man  over  an  orator  of  such  wide  experience  and 
renown  was  received  with  exclamations  of  astonishment 
alike  by  listeners  and  readers.” 

Caleb  Cushing,  the  distinguished  Massachusetts  lawyer, 
was  one  of  those  acute  minds  whose  attention  was  at- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  207 


traded  to  Lincoln  by  his  debates  with  Douglas.  Mr. 
Cushing  said  that  these  debates  showed  Lincoln  to  be  the 
superior  of  Douglas  “in  every  vital  element  of  power”; 
and  added  that  “the  world  does  not  yet  know  how  much 
of  a man  Lincoln  really  is.”  It  was  soon  to  know  him 
much  more  clearly.  In  less  than  two  years  after  the 
great  debate  this  lately  obscure  Illinois  lawyer  was 
elected  President  of  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  XII 


A Year  of  Waiting  and  Trial  — Again  Defeated  for  the  Senate  — 
Depression  and  Neglect — Lincoln  Enlarging  His  Boundaries  — 
On  the  Stump  in  Ohio  — A Speech  to  Kentuckians  — Second  Visit 
to  Cincinnati — A Short  Trip  to  Kansas — Lincoln  in  New  York 
City  — The  Famous  Cooper  Institute  Speech  — A Strong  and 
Favorable  Impression  — Visits  New  England  — Secret  of  Lincoln’s 
Success  as  an  Orator  — Back  to  Springfield  — Disposing  of  a 
Campaign  Slander  — Lincoln’s  Account  of  His  Visit  to  a Five 
Points  Sunday  School. 

ON  the  2d  of  November,  1858,  the  State  election  was 
held  in  Illinois.  The  chief  significance  of  this 
election  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Legislature  then 
chosen  would  decide  whether  Douglas  or  Lincoln  should 
be  sent  to  the  Senate  at  Washington.  The  result  showed 
that  Lincoln  had,  by  his  hard  efforts,  won  a victory  for 
his  cause  and  for  his  party,  but  not  for  himself.  The 
Republican  State  ticket  was  elected  by  a majority  of 
about  4,000  votes;  but  in  the  Legislature  a number  of 
members  held  over  from  the  election  of  two  years  before, 
and  the  Republican  gains,  though  considerable,  were  not 
quite  sufficient  to  overcome  this  adverse  element.  When 
the  Legislature  met,  Douglas  was  re-elected  to  the  Senate 
by  a small  majority.  It  is  said  that  Lincoln  was  deeply 
grieved  by  his  defeat.  When  some  one  inquired  of  him 
how  he  felt  over  the  result,  he  answered  that  he  felt  “ like 
the  boy  that  stubbed  his  toe,  — ‘it  hurt  too  bad  to  laugh, 
and  he  was  too  big  to  cry!’  ” 

A few  days  after  his  return  to  Springfield,  there  was 
pressed  on  the  attention  of  the  defeated  candidate  a 
matter  which  must  have  been  peculiarly  unwelcome 
at  the  time,  but  which  was  accepted  with  habitual 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  209 


fortitude.  What  this  matter  was  is  revealed  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter: 

Springfield,  Nov.  16,  1858. 

Hon.  N.  B.  Judd  — My  Dear  Sir:  — Yours  of  the  15th 
is  just  received.  I wrote  you  the  same  day.  As  to  the 
pecuniary  matter,  I am  willing  to  pay  according  to  my 
ability,  but  I am  the  poorest  hand  living  to  get  others  to 
pay.  I have  been  on  expense  so  long,  without  earning 
anything,  that  I am  absolutely  without  money  now  for  even 
household  expenses.  Still,  if  you  can  put  in  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  for  me  towards  discharging  the  debt  of 
the  committee,  I will  allow  it  when  you  and  I settle  the 
private  matter  between  us.  This,  with  what  I have 
already  paid  with  an  outstanding  note  of  mine,  will  ex- 
ceed my  subscription  of  five  hundred  dollars.  This,  too, 
is  exclusive  of  my  ordinary  expenses  during  the  campaign, 
all  of  which,  being  added  to  my  loss  of  time  and  busi- 
ness, bears  pretty  heavily  upon  one  no  better  off  than  I 
am.  But  as  I had  the  post  of  honor,  it  is  not  for  me  to 
be  over-nice. 

You  are  feeling  badly.  And  this,  too,  shall  pass  away; 
never  fear. 

Yours  as  ever, 

A.  Lincoln. 

Hon.  E.  M.  Haines,  who  was  a member  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  1858-9,  and  a supporter  of  Lincoln  for  the 
Senate,  states  that  Lincoln  seemed  greatly  depressed 
by  his  defeat,  and  that  his  friends  were  also  somewhat 
disheartened  regarding  his  future  prospects,  and  neglected 
him  to  some  extent.  “Some  time  after  the  Senatorial 
election,”  says  Mr.  Haines,  “Governor  Bissell  gave  a 
reception  at  his  house,  which  I attended  with  my  wife. 
After  we  had  paid  our  respects  to  the  Governor  and  Mrs. 
Bissell,  we  passed  on  to  an  adjoining  room,  where  there 
was  quite  a throng  of  people  engaged  in  conversation. 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  standing  near  the  centre  of  the  room, 
entirely  alone,  with  his  usual  sad  countenance,  and  ap- 
parently unnoticed  by  anyone.  I said  to  my  wife,  ‘Here 


210  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


is  Mr.  Lincoln;  he  looks  as  if  he  had  lost  all  his  friends; 
come  and  have  an  introduction  to  him,  and  cheer  him 
up.’  Mr.  Lincoln  received  us  very  cordially,  and  we 
entered  into  a general  conversation,  apparently  unno- 
ticed, and  attracting  no  attention  from  others  as  they 
passed  and  repassed  around  us.  Dancing  was  going  on 
in  the  adjacent  rooms,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  invited  my  wife 
to  join  him  in  the  dancing,  which  she  did,  and  he  appar- 
ently took  much  pleasure  in  the  recreation.  My  wife 
afterwards  related  to  me  much  that  Mr.  Lincoln  said  in 
their  conversation  during  the  evening.  His  despond- 
ency became  much  dispelled  after  they  became  engaged 
in  conversation;  indeed,  she  said  that  he  seemed  to  be 
putting  forth  an  effort  to  get  out  of  the  gloomy  condition 
which  had  come  upon  him  from  the  result  of  his  Sena- 
torial canvass.  He  had  occasion  during  their  conversa- 
tion to  refer  to  his  age,  remarking  incidentally  that  he 
was  almost  fifty  years  old;  whereupon,  as  if  suddenly 
reflecting  that  his  age  was  a good  part  of  a man’s  life,  and 
as  if  unwilling  to  relinquish  his  hold  upon  the  future,  he 
suddenly  braced  himself  up,  and  said,  ‘But,  Mrs.  Haines, 
I feel  that  I am  good  for  another  fifty  years  yet.’  ” 

During  the  winter  following  the  Senatorial  debate 
Lincoln  was  occupied  with  his  private  affairs.  The  love 
of  public  speaking  had  become  so  strong  with  him  that  he 
prepared  a lecture  and  delivered  it  to  the  public  at  sev- 
eral places  during  the  winter.  It  was  somewhat  humorous 
in  character,  but  was  not  much  of  a success,  and  he  soon 
declined  further  invitations  to  deliver  it.  To  one  corre- 
spondent he  wrote,  in  March,  1859:  “Your  note,  inviting 
me  to  deliver  a lecture  in  Galesburg,  is  received.  I 
regret  to  say  that  I cannot  do  so  now.  I must  stick  to 
the  courts  for  awhile.  I read  a sort  of  a lecture  to  three 
different  audiences  during  the  last  month  and  this;  but 
I did  so  under  circumstances  which  made  it  a waste  of 
time,  of  no  value  whatever.” 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  211 

The  following  autumn  (1859)  Senator  Douglas  visited 
Ohio  and  made  speeches  for  the  Democratic  party  there. 
From  the  Republican  ranks  there  arose  a cry  for  Lincoln, 
whose  superiority  to  Douglas  in  the  great  debate  of  the 
preceding  year  was  still  fresh  in  the  public  mind.  He 
promptly  answered  it,  and  spoke  in  that  State  with 
marked  effect.  At  Cincinnati  he  addressed  himself  es- 
pecially to  Kentuckians,  and  said,  in  a strain  which  is 
now  seen  to  be  prophetic: 

I should  not  wonder  if  there  were  some  Kentuckians 
in  this  audience;  we  are  close  to  Kentucky;  but  whether 
that  be  so  or  not,  we  are  on  elevated  ground,  and  by 
speaking  distinctly  I should  not  wonder  if  some  of  the 
Kentuckians  would  hear  me  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river.  For  that  purpose  I propose  to  address  a portion 
of  what  I have  to  say  to  the  Kentuckians.  I say,  then,  in 
the  first  place,  to  the  Kentuckians,  that  I am  what  they 
call,  as  I understand  it,  a ‘Black  Republican.’  I think 
slavery  is  wrong,  morally  and  politically.  I desire  that 
it  should  be  no  further  spread  in  these  United  States,  and 
I should  not  object  if  it  should  gradually  terminate  in  the 
whole  Union.  While  I say  this  for  myself,  I say  to  you 
Kentuckians,  that  I understand  you  differ  radically  with 
me  upon  this  proposition;  that  you  believe  slavery  is  a 
good  thing;  that  slavery  is  right;  that  it  ought  to  be 
extended  and  perpetuated  in  this  Union.  Now,  there 
being  this  broad  difference  between  us,  I do  not  pretend, 
in  addressing  myself  to  you  Kentuckians,  to  attempt 
proselyting  you;  that  would  be  a vain  effort.  I will 
tell  you,  so  far  as  I am  authorized  to  speak  for  the  oppo- 
sition, what  we  mean  to  do  with  you.  We  mean  to  treat 
you,  as  nearly  as  we  possibly  can,  as  Washington,  Jeffer- 
son, and  Madison  treated  you.  We  mean  to  leave  you 
alone,  and  in  no  way  to  interfere  with  your  institution; 
to  abide  by  all  and  every  compromise  of  the  Constitution, 
and,  in  a word,  coming  back  to  the  original  proposition, 
to  treat  you,  so  far  as  degenerated  men  (if  we  have  de- 
generated) may,  according  to  the  examples  of  those  noble 
fathers  — Washington,  Jefferson  and  Madison.  We  mean 
to  remember  that  you  are  as  good  as  we;  that  there  is  no 


212  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


difference  between  us,  other  than  the  difference  of  circum- 
stances. We  mean  to  recognize  and  bear  in  mind  always, 
that  you  have  as  good  hearts  in  your  bosoms  as  other 
people,  or  as  we  claim  to  have,  and  treat  you  accordingly. 
We  mean  to  marry  your  girls,  when  we  have  a chance  — 
the  white  ones,  I mean  — and  I have  the  honor  to  inform 
you  that  I once  did  have  a chance  in  that  way.  I have 
told  you  what  we  mean  to  do.  I want  to  know  now  what 
you  mean  to  do.  I often  hear  it  intimated  that  you 
mean  to  divide  the  Union  whenever  a Republican,  or 
anything  like  it,  is  elected  President  of  the  United  States. 
[A  voice  — ‘That  is  so.’]  ‘That  is  so,’  one  of  them 
says;  I wonder  if  he  is  a Kentuckian?  [A  voice  — ‘He 
is  a Douglas  man.’]  Well,  then,  I want  to  know  what 
you  are  going  to  do  with  your  half  of  it?  Are  you  going 
to  split  the  Ohio  down  through,  and  push  your  half  off  a 
piece?  Or  are  you  going  to  keep  it  right  alongside  of  us 
outrageous  fellows?  Or  are  you  going  to  build  up  a wall 
some  way  between  your  country  and  ours,  by  which 
that  movable  property  of  yours  can’t  come  over  here  any 
more,  to  the  danger  of  your  losing  it?  Do  you  think  you 
can  better  yourselves  on  that  subject  by  leaving  us  here 
under  no  obligation  whatever  to  return  those  specimens 
of  your  movable  property  that  come  hither?  You  have 
divided  the  Union  because  we  would  not  do  right  with 
you,  as  you  think,  upon  that  subject;  when  we  cease  to 
be  under  obligations  to  do  anything  for  you,  how  much 
better  off  do  you  think  you  will  be?  Will  you  make  war 
upon  us  and  kill  us  all?  Why,  gentlemen,  I think  you 
are  as  gallant  and  as  brave  men  as  live;  that  you  can 
fight  as  bravely  in  a good  cause,  man  for  man,  as  any 
other  people  living;  that  you  have  shown  yourselves 
capable  of  this  upon  various  occasions;  but  man  for  man, 
you  are  not  better  than  we  are,  and  there  are  not  so  many 
of  you  as  there  are  of  us.  You  will  never  make  much  of  a 
hand  at  whipping  us.  If  we  were  fewer  in  numbers  than 
you,  I think  that  you  could  whip  us;  if  we  were  equal,  it 
would  likely  be  a drawn  battle;  but  being  inferior  in  num- 
bers, you  will  make  nothing  by  attempting  to  master  us. 

The  Hon.  W.  M.  Dickson,  whose  interesting  account 
of  Lincoln’s  first  visit  to  Cincinnati  and  the  disappoint- 
ments attending  it  has  already  been  given  in  this  narra- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  213 


tive,  says  of  this  second  visit  as  contrasted  with  the 
obscurity  of  the  first:  “Lincoln  returned  to  the  city  with 
a fame  wide  as  the  continent,  with  the  laurels  of  the 
Douglas  contest  on  his  brow,  and  the  Presidency  almost 
in  his  grasp.  He  returned,  greeted  with  the  thunder  of 
cannon,  the  strains  of  martial  music,  and  the  joyous 
plaudits  of  thousands  of  citizens  thronging  the  streets. 
He  addressed  a vast  concourse  on  Fifth  Street  Market; 
was  entertained  in  princely  style  at  the  Burnet  House; 
and  there  received  with  courtesy  the  foremost  citizens, 
come  to  greet  this  Western  rising  star.” 

In  December  of  the  same  year  Lincoln  visited  Kansas 
and  addressed  the  people  of  that  troubled  State  upon  the 
political  questions  then  before  the  country.  At  Leaven- 
worth, Atchison,  Elwood,  and  other  places,  he  was  met 
by  large  gatherings  of  eager  listeners  who  were  charmed 
and  convinced  by  his  fresh  and  reassuring  utterances. 
His  journeys  were  complete  ovations,  and  he  returned  to 
Illinois  leaving  a host  of  new  friends  behind  him.  As 
several  of  Lincoln’s  biographers  make  no  reference  to  his 
Kansas  visit,  and  the  entire  matter  seems  more  or  less 
obscured,  the  following  letter,  lately  written  by  Mr. 
Harry  W.  Stewart,  of  Carlsbad,  New  Mexico,  is  of  much 
interest:  “I  have  recently  seen  a reference  to  Lincoln’s 
visit  to  Kansas  as  if  the  fact  were  not  clearly  established. 
In  this  connection  I may  offer  a personal  recollection  of 
my  father,  James  G.  Stewart,  who  was  a physician  prac- 
ticing in  the  little  town  of  Elwood,  Kansas,  from  1856  to 
1860.  He  said  that  both  Lincoln  and  Seward  came  out 
and  spoke  in  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  just  across  the  river  from 
Elwood.  On  each  occasion  a large  following  of  ‘free 
state’  men  went  over  to  St.  Jo  to  hear  the  speech  and 
incidentally  to  support  the  speaker  in  case  of  violence, 
which  had  been  freely  predicted.  According  to  this 
reminiscence,  Lincoln  crossed  the  Missouri  into  Kansas, 
my  father  having  the  honor  of  taking  him  in  a buggy  to 


214  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


a small  town  fourteen  miles  distant  from  Elwood  in  Doni- 
phan County.  They  drove  out  to  Troy,  where  Mr. 
Lincoln  made  a speech.  From  here  I think  he  went  on 
to  Lawrence  and  other  places  before  returning  to  St. 
Joseph,  but  have  no  account  of  his  movements  beyond 
Troy.  I think  it  was  in  the  year  1858  and  must  have 
been  in  the  summer  time,  for  the  party  took  Mr.  Lincoln 
over  the  Missouri  on  a ferry.  It  did  not  make  trips 
oftener  than  about  once  in  two  hours.  When  Lincoln 
came  to  the  bank  on  the  Missouri  side  the  boat  had  just 
gone.  There  was  no  waiting-room  or  benches  to  sit  on 
and  some  of  the  party  were  inclined  to  think  they  were 
in  hard  luck.  When  Lincoln  found  out  how  it  was,  he 
said:  ‘It’s  all  right.  We’ll  sit  right  down  on  the  sand 
and  wait  for  the  boat.’  Then  they  all  sat  down  on  the 
ground  and  listened  to  genuine  Lincoln  stories  till  the 
time  was  up.  My  father  often  spoke  with  delight  of  this 
incident.  I have  looked  in  vain  in  Lincoln  histories  for 
a more  definite  account  of  this  Kansas  trip.  Of  the 
actual  fact  there  can  be  no  doubt.” 

Lincoln’s  fame,  as  we  have  seen,  had  now  extended  to 
the  East,  where  he  seems  to  have  been  looked  upon  as  a 
rising  man  and  an  interesting  figure  in  national  politics. 
Invitations  to  visit  the  East  now  began  to  reach  him.  In 
the  following  February  (1860)  he  went  to  Brooklyn,  for 
the  purpose  of  delivering  a lecture  in  Mr.  Beecher’s  church. 
The  invitation  had  given  him  much  pleasure,  and  he 
prepared  himself  thoroughly;  indeed,  it  is  said  that  no 
effort  of  his  life  cost  him  so  much  labor  as  this.  In  the 
Plymouth  congregation  of  Brooklyn  there  was  an  associa- 
tion of  young  men  which  was  successful  in  getting  an 
annual  course  of  six  lectures  of  the  highest  order.  This 
association  discerned  in  Lincoln  a man  worthy  of  a place 
in  its  course,  and  invited  him  to  give  such  a lecture. 
Meanwhile,  some  prominent  Republican  politicians  of 
New  York  had  heard  of  him  as  a possible  candidate  for 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  215 


the  Presidency,  and  desired  him  to  make  a speech  in  that 
city  in  order  to  determine  whether  he  would  be  the  man 
to  present  to  the  Republican  National  convention  in  case 
Mr.  Seward  could  not  be  nominated.  Lincoln  informed 
these  gentlemen  of  his  Brooklyn  engagement,  but  said 
he  would  speak  in  New  York  if  the  Brooklyn  club  gave 
its  consent.  That  club  agreed  to  this  arrangement;  and 
thus  it  was  decided  that  Lincoln’s  speech  should  be 
delivered  in  New  York  City,  instead  of  Brooklyn,  as  had 
been  first  intended.  Mr.  R.  C.  McCormick,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  committee  in  charge  of  the  arrangements, 
says:  “When  Mr.  Lincoln  came  to  New  York  City,  there 
was  some  confusion  in  the  arrangements.  He  had  at 
first  been  invited  to  appear  in  Brooklyn,  but  upon  de- 
liberation his  friends  thought  it  best  that  he  should  be 
heard  in  New  York.  Reaching  the  Astor  House  on 
Saturday,  February  25,  he  was  surprised  to  find  by 
announcement  in  the  public  prints  that  he  was  to  speak 
at  the  Cooper  Institute.  He  said  he  must  review  his 
address  if  it  was  to  be  delivered  in  New  York.  What  he 
had  prepared  for  Mr.  Beecher’s  church-folks  might  not 
be  altogether  appropriate  to  a miscellaneous  political 
audience.  Saturday  was  spent  in  a review  of  the  speech, 
and  on  Sunday  morning  he  went  to  Plymouth  church, 
where  apparently  he  greatly  enjoyed  the  service.  On 
Monday  morning  I waited  upon  him  with  several  mem- 
bers of  the  Young  Men’s  Republican  Union,  into  whose 
hands  the  preparations  for  the  meeting  at  the  Cooper 
Institute  had  fallen.  We  found  him  in  a suit  of  black, 
much  wrinkled  from  its  careless  packing  in  a small  valise. 
He  received  us  cordially,  apologizing  for  the  awkward 
and  uncomfortable  appearance  he  made  in  his  new  suit, 
and  expressing  himself  surprised  at  being  in  New  York. 
His  form  and  manner  were  indeed  very  odd,  and  we 
thought  him  the  most  unprepossessing  public  man  we 
had  ever  met.  I spoke  to  him  of  the  manuscript  of  his 


216  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


forthcoming  address,  and  suggested  to  him  that  it  should 
be  given  to  the  press  at  his  earliest  convenience,  in  order 
that  it  might  be  published  in  full  on  the  morning  following 
its  delivery.  He  appeared  in  much  doubt  as  to  whether 
any  of  the  papers  would  care  to  print  it;  and  it  was  only 
when  I accompanied  a reporter  to  his  room  and  made  a 
request  for  it,  that  he  began  to  think  his  words  might  be 
of  interest  to  the  metropolitan  public.  He  seemed 
wholly  ignorant  of  the  custom  of  supplying  slips  to  the 
different  journals  from  the  office  first  putting  the  addresses 
in  type,  and  was  charmingly  innocent  of  the  machinery 
so  generally  used,  even  by  some  of  our  most  popular 
orators,  to  give  success  and  eclat  to  their  public  efforts. 
The  address  was  written  upon  blue  foolscap  paper,  all 
in  his  own  hand,  and  with  few  interlineations.  I was 
bold  enough  to  read  portions  of  it,  and  had  no  doubt  that 
its  delivery  would  create  a marked  sensation  throughout 
the  country.  Lincoln  referred  frequently  to  Douglas, 
but  always  in  a generous  and  kindly  manner.  It  was 
difficult  to  regard  them  as  antagonists.  Many  stories 
of  the  famous  Illinois  debates  were  told  us,  and  in  a very 
short  time  his  frank  and  sparkling  conversation  won  our 
hearts  and  made  his  plain  face  pleasant  to  us  all.  Dur- 
ing the  day  it  was  suggested  that  he  should  be  taken  up 
Broadway  and  shown  the  city,  of  which  he  knew  but 
little  — stating,  I think,  that  he  had  been  here  but  once 
before.  At  one  place  he  met  an  Illinois  acquaintance  of 
former  years,  to  whom  he  said,  in  his  dry,  good-natured 
way : ‘ Well,  B.,  how  have  you  fared  since  you  left  Illinois?  ’ 
To  which  B.  replied,  ‘I  have  made  a hundred  thousand 
dollars,  and  lost  all.  How  is  it  with  you,  Mr.  Lincoln?’ 
‘Oh,  very  well,’  said  Lincoln.  ‘I  have  the  cottage  at 
Springfield,  and  about  eight  thousand  dollars  in  money. 
If  they  make  me  Vice-president  with  Seward,  as  some 
say  they  will,  I hope  I shall  be  able  to  increase  it  to 
twenty  thousand;  and  that  is  as  much  as  any  man  ought 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  217 


to  want.’  We  visited  a photographic  establishment  upon 
the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Bleeker  streets,  where  he  sat 
for  his  picture,  the  first  taken  in  New  York.  At  the 
gallery  he  met  and  was  introduced  to  Hon.  George  Ban- 
croft, and  had  a brief  conversation  with  that  gentleman, 
who  welcomed  him  to  New  York.  The  contrast  in  the 
appearance  of  the  men  was  most  striking;  the  one  courtly 
and  precise  in  his  every  word  and  gesture,  with  the  air 
of  a trans-Atlantic  statesman;  the  other  bluff  and  awk- 
ward, his  very  utterance  an  apology  for  his  ignorance  of 
metropolitan  manners  and  customs.  ‘ I am  on  my  way  to 
Massachusetts,’  he  said  to  Mr.  Bancroft,  ‘where  I have  a 
son  at  school,  who,  if  report  be  true,  already  knows  much 
more  than  his  father.’ 

On  the  evening  of  February  27  a large  and  brilliant 
audience  gathered  at  Cooper  Institute,  to  hear  the  famous 
Western  orator.  The  scene  was  one  never  to  be  for- 
gotten by  those  who  witnessed  it.  Upon  the  platform 
sat  many  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  Republican  party, 
and  in  the  body  of  the  hall  were  many  ladies.  The 
meeting  was  presided  over  by  the  distinguished  citizen  and 
poet  William  Cullen  Bryant,  of  whom  Mr.  Lincoln  after- 
ward said,  “It  was  worth  a journey  to  the  East  merely 
to  see  such  a man.”  The  orator  of  the  evening  was  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Bryant  with  some  very  complimentary 
allusions,  especially  to  his  controversy  with  Douglas. 
“When  Mr.  Lincoln  came  on  the  platform  and  was  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Bryant,”  says  one  who  was  present,  “he 
seemed  a giant  in  contrast  with  him.  His  first  sentence 
was  delivered  in  a peculiarly  high-keyed  voice,  and  dis- 
appointed us.  In  a short  time  the  sharp  points  of  his 
address  began  to  come,  and  he  had  not  been  speaking  for 
half  an  hour  before  his  audience  seemed  wild  with  en- 
thusiasm.” Another  account  says : “ His  manner  was,  to 
a New  York  audience,  a very  strange  one,  but  it  was  cap- 
tivating. He  held  the  vast  meeting  spell-bound,  and  as 


218  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


one  by  one  his  oddly  expressed  but  trenchant  and  con- 
vincing arguments  confirmed  the  soundness  of  his  political 
conclusions,  the  house  broke  out  in  wild  and  prolonged 
enthusiasm.  I think  I never  saw  an  audience  more  thor- 
oughly carried  away  by  an  orator.”  This  speech  was 
full  of  trenchant  passages,  which  called  forth  tumultuous 
applause.  The  following  is  a specimen: 

I defy  anyone  to  show  that  any  living  man  in  the 
whole  world  ever  did,  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century  (and  I might  almost  say  prior  to  the  beginning 
of  the  last  half  of  the  present  century),  declare  that,  in 
his  understanding,  any  proper  division  of  local  from 
Federal  authority,  or  any  part  of  the  Constitution,  forbade 
the  Federal  Government  to  control  slavery  in  the  Federal 
territories.  To  those  who  now  so  declare,  I give  not  only 
our  fathers  who  framed  the  government  under  which  we 
live,  but  with  them  all  other  living  men  within  the  century 
in  which  it  was  framed,  among  whom  to  search,  and  they 
shall  not  be  able  to  find  the  evidence  of  a single  man 
agreeing  with  them. 

Referring  to  the  South,  and  the  growing  political  dis- 
content in  that  quarter,  he  said: 

Let  all  who  believe  that  our  fathers  understood  this 
question  just  as  well  as,  and  even  better  than,  we  do  now, 
speak  as  they  spoke  and  act  as  they  acted  upon  it.  This 
is  all  Republicans  ask  — all  Republicans  desire  — in 
relation  to  slavery.  As  those  fathers  marked  it,  so  let 
it  be  again  marked,  as  an  evil  not  to  be  extended,  but  to 
be  tolerated  and  protected  only  because,  and  so  far  as, 
its  actual  presence  among  us  makes  that  toleration  and 
protection  a necessity.  Let  all  the  guarantees  those 
fathers  gave  it  be  not  grudgingly  but  fully  and  fairly 
maintained. 

His  counsel  to  the  young  Republican  party  was  timely 
and  full  of  wisdom. 

A few  words  now  to  Republicans:  It  is  exceedingly 
desirable  that  all  parts  of  this  great  Confederacy  shall  be 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  219 


at  peace,  and  in  harmony  one  with  another.  Let  us 
Republicans  do  our  part  to  have  it  so.  Even  though 
much  provoked,  let  us  do  nothing  through  passion  and 
ill-temper.  Even  though  the  Southern  people  will  not 
so  much  as  listen  to  us,  let  us  calmly  consider  their  de- 
mands, and  yield  to  them,  if  in  our  deliberate  view  of  our 
duty  we  possibly  can. 

The  address  closed  with  the  following  impressive 
words : 

Wrong  as  we  think  slavery  is,  we  can  yet  afford  to  let 
it  alone  where  it  is,  because  that  much  is  due  to  the 
necessity  arising  from  its  actual  presence  in  the  nation; 
but  can  we,  while  our  votes  will  prevent  it,  allow  it  to 
spread  into  the  National  Territories,  and  to  overrun  us 
here  in  these  free  States?  If  our  sense  of  duty  forbids 
this,  then  let  us  stand  by  our  duty,  fearlessly  and  effect- 
ively. Let  us  be  diverted  by  none  of  those  sophistical 
contrivances  wherewith  we  are  so  industriously  plied  and 
belabored  — contrivances  such  as  groping  for  some  middle 
ground  between  the  right  and  the  wrong,  vain  as  the 
search  for  a man  who  should  be  neither  a living  man  nor 
a dead  man,  — such  as  a policy  of  * don’t  care  ’ on  a 
question  about  which  all  true  men  do  care,  — such  as 
Union  appeals,  beseeching  true  Union  men  to  yield  to 
Disunionists,  reversing  the  divine  rule,  and  calling  not 
the  sinners  but  the  righteous  to  repentance,  — such  as 
invocations  of  Washington,  imploring  men  to  unsay  what 
Washington  said  and  undo  what  Washington  did.  Neither 
let  us  be  slandered  from  our  duty  by  false  accusations 
against  us,  nor  frightened  from  it  by  menaces  of  destruc- 
tion to  the  Government  nor  of  dungeons  to  ourselves. 
Let  us  have  faith  that  right  makes  might;  and  in  that 
faith,  let  us  to  the  end  dare  to  do  our  duty  as  we  under- 
stand it. 

The  Cooper  Institute  speech  made  a profound  im- 
pression upon  the  public.  All  who  saw  and  heard  Lin- 
coln on  that  occasion  felt  the  influence  of  his  strange  but 
powerful  personality;  and  acute  minds  recognized  in  the 
unsophisticated  Western  lawyer  a new  force  in  American 


220  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


politics.  This  speech  made  Lincoln  known  throughout 
the  country,  and  undoubtedly  did  more  than  anything 
else  to  secure  him  the  nomination  for  the  Presidency. 
Aside  from  its  extensive  publication  in  the  newspapers, 
various  editions  of  it  appeared  in  pamphlet  form,  one  of 
the  best  of  which  was  issued  by  Messrs.  C.  C.  Nott  and 
Cephas  Brainard,  who  appended  to  their  edition  an  esti- 
mate of  the  speech  that  is  well  worth  reprinting  here: 
“No  one  who  has  not  actually  attempted  to  verify  its 
details  can  understand  the  patient  research  and  historical 
labor  which  it  embodies.  The  history  of  our  earlier 
politics  is  scattered  through  numerous  journals,  statutes, 
pamphlets,  and  letters;  and  these  are  defective  in  com- 
pleteness and  accuracy  of  statement,  and  in  indexes  and 
tables  of  contents.  Neither  can  any  one  who  has  not 
travelled  over  this  precise  ground  appreciate  the  accu- 
racy of  every  trivial  detail,  or  the  self-denying  impartiality 
with  which  Mr.  Lincoln  has  turned  from  the  testimony 
of  ‘the  fathers’  on  the  general  question  of  slavery  to 
present  the  single  question  which  he  discusses.  From 
the  first  line  to  the  last,  from  his  premises  to  his  con- 
clusion, he  travels  with  a swift,  unerring  directness 
which  no  logician  ever  excelled,  — an  argument  complete 
and  full,  without  the  affectation  of  learning,  and  without 
the  stiffness  which  usually  accompanies  dates  and  details. 
A single  easy,  simple  sentence  of  plain  Anglo-Saxon  words 
contains  a chapter  of  history  that,  in  some  instances,  has 
taken  days  of  labor  to  verify,  and  must  have  cost  the 
author  months  of  investigation  to  acquire;  and  though 
the  public  should  justly  estimate  the  labor  bestowed  on 
the  facts  which  are  stated,  they  cannot  estimate  the 
greater  labor  involved  on  those  which  are  omitted  — 
how  many  pages  have  been  read  — how  many  works  ex- 
amined — what  numerous  statutes,  resolutions,  speeches, 
letters,  and  biographies  have  been  looked  through.  Com- 
mencing with  this  address  as  a political  pamphlet,  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  221 


reader  will  leave  it  as  an  historical  work  — brief,  complete, 
profound,  impartial,  truthful,  — which  will  survive  the 
time  and  the  occasion  that  called  it  forth,  and  be  es- 
teemed hereafter  no  less  for  its  intrinsic  worth  than  for 
its  unpretending  modesty.” 

Lincoln’s  oldest  son,  Robert,  was  at  this  time  a stu- 
dent in  Harvard  University,  and,  chiefly  to  visit  him, 
Lincoln  made  a brief  trip  to  New  England.  While 
there  he  spoke  at  Concord  and  Manchester  in  New 
Hampshire;  at  Woonsocket  in  Rhode  Island;  and  at 
Hartford,  New  Haven,  Norwich,  Meriden,  and  Bridge- 
port in  Connecticut.  These  speeches  were  heard  with 
delight  by  large  audiences,  and  received  hearty  praise 
from  the  press.  At  Manchester,  “The  Mirror,”  a neu- 
tral paper,  published  the  following  remarks  on  Lincoln’s 
style  of  oratory:  “He  spoke  an  hour  and  a half,  with  great 
fairness,  great  apparent  candor,  and  with  wonderful 
interest.  He  did  not  abuse  the  South,  the  administration, 
or  the  Democrats,  nor  indulge  in  any  personalities,  with 
the  exception  of  a few  hits  at  ‘Douglas’s  notions.’  He 
is  far  from  prepossessing  in  personal  appearance,  and  his 
voice  is  disagreeable;  and  yet  he  wins  attention  and 
good-will  from  the  start.  He  indulges  in  no  flowers  of 
rhetoric,  no  eloquent  passages.  He  is  not  a wit,  a hu- 
morist, or  a clown;  yet  so  fine  a vein  of  pleasantry  and 
good-nature  pervades  what  he  says,  gliding  over  a deep 
current  of  poetical  arguments,  that  he  keeps  his  hearers 
in  a smiling  mood,  ready  to  swallow  all  he  says.  His 
sense  of  the  ludicrous  is  very  keen;  and  an  exhibition  of 
that  is  the  clincher  of  all  his  arguments — not  the  ludi- 
crous acts  of  persons,  but  ludicrous  ideas.  For  the  first 
half-hour  his  opponents  would  agree  with  every  word 
he  uttered;  and  from  that  point  he  began  to  lead  them 
off  little  by  little,  until  it  seemed  as  if  he  had  got  them 
all  into  his  fold.” 

The  Rev.  John.  P.  Gulliver,  of  Norwich,  Connecticut, 


222  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


has  given  a most  interesting  reminiscence  of  Lincoln’s 
speech  in  that  city  while  on  his  tour  through  New  Eng- 
land. On  the  morning  following  the  speech  he  met  Lin- 
coln on  a railroad  train,  and  entered  into  conversation 
with  him.  In  speaking  of  his  speech,  Mr.  Gulliver  re- 
marked to  Lincoln  that  he  thought  it  the  most  remarkable 
one  he  ever  heard.  “Are  you  sincere  in  what  you  say?” 
inquired  Lincoln.  “I  mean  every  word  of  it,”  replied 
the  minister;  “indeed,  I learned  more  of  the  art  of  public 
speaking  last  evening  than  I could  from  a whole  course 
of  lectures  on  rhetoric.”  Then  Lincoln  informed  him  of 
a “most  extraordinary  circumstance”  that  had  occurred 
at  New  Haven  a few  days  previous.  A professor  of 
rhetoric  in  Yale  College,  he  had  been  told,  came  to  hear 
him,  took  notes  of  his  speech,  and  gave  a lecture  on  it 
to  his  class  the  following  day,  and,  not  satisfied  with 
that,  followed  him  to  Meriden  the  next  evening  and 
heard  him  again  for  the  same  purpose.  All  this  seemed 
to  Lincoln  to  be  “very  extraordinary.”  He  had  been 
sufficiently  astonished  by  his  success  in  the  West,  but  he 
had  no  expectation  of  any  marked  success  in  the  East, 
particularly  among  literary  and  learned  men.  “Now,” 
said  Lincoln,  “I  should  like  very  much  to  know  what  it  is 
in  my  speech  which  you  thought  so  remarkable,  and 
which  interested  my  friend  the  professor  so  much.”  Mr. 
Gulliver’s  answer  was:  “The  clearness  of  your  statements, 
the  unanswerable  style  of  your  reasoning,  and  especially 
your  illustrations,  which  were  romance  and  pathos  and 
fun  and  logic  all  welded  together.”  After  Mr.  Gulliver 
had  fully  satisfied  his  curiosity  by  a further  exposition 
of  the  politician’s  peculiar  power,  Lincoln  said:  “I  am 
much  obliged  to  you  for  this.  I have  been  wishing  for 
a long  time  to  find  someone  who  would  make  this  analy- 
sis for  me.  It  throws  light  on  a subject  which  has  been 
dark  to  me.  I can  understand  very  readily  how  such  a 
power  as  you  have  ascribed  to  me  will  account  for  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  223 


effect  which  seems  to  be  produced  by  my  speeches.  I hope 
you  have  not  been  too  flattering  in  your  estimate.  Cer- 
tainly I have  had  a most  wonderful  success  for  a man  of 
my  limited  education.”  Mr.  Gulliver  then  inquired 
into  the  processes  by  which  he  had  acquired  his  educa- 
tion, and  was  rewarded  with  many  interesting  details. 
When  they  were  about  to  part,  the  minister  said:  “Mr. 
Lincoln,  may  I say  one  thing  to  you  before  we  separate?” 
“Certainly;  anything  you  please,”  was  the  response. 
“You  have  just  spoken,”  said  Mr.  Gulliver,  “of  the 
tendency  of  political  life  in  Washington  to  debase  the 
moral  convictions  of  our  representatives  there,  by  the  ad- 
mixture of  considerations  of  mere  political  expediency. 
You  have  become,  by  the  controversy  with  Mr.  Douglas, 
one  of  our  leaders  in  this  great  struggle  with  slavery, 
which  is  undoubtedly  the  struggle  of  the  nation  and  the 
age.  What  I would  like  to  say  is  this,  and  I say  it  with 
a full  heart:  Be  true  to  your  principles,  and  we  will  be 
true  to  you,  and  God  will  be  true  to  us  all.”  Mr.  Lincoln, 
touched  by  the  earnestness  of  his  interlocutor,  took  his 
hand  in  both  his  own,  and,  with  his  face  full  of  sym- 
pathetic light,  exclaimed:  “I  say  amen  to  that!  amen 
to  that!” 

After  the  New  England  tour,  Lincoln  returned  to 
his  home  in  Springfield.  As  often  happens,  those  least 
appreciative  of  his  success  were  his  own  neighbors;  and 
certain  reflections  gained  vogue  concerning  his  motives 
in  visiting  the  East.  It  was  charged  that  he  had  been 
mercenary;  that  his  political  speeches  had  been  paid 
for.  Something  of  this  sort  having  been  brought  to 
Lincoln’s  notice,  he  disposed  of  the  matter  in  the  following 
manly  and  characteristic  letter: 

C.  F.  McNeill,  Esq.  — Dear  Sir:  — Reaching  home 
yesterday,  I found  yours  of  the  23d  March,  enclosing 
a slip  from  the  ‘Middleport  Press.’  It  is  not  true  that 
I ever  charged  anything  for  a political  speech  in  my  life; 


224  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 

but  this  much  is  true:  Last  October  I was  requested  by 
letter  to  deliver  some  sort  of  speech  in  Mr.  Beecher’s 
church  in  Brooklyn,  $200  being  offered  in  the  first  letter. 
I wrote  that  I could  do  it  in  February,  provided  they  would 
take  a political  speech  if  I could  find  time  to  get  up  no 
other.  They  agreed;  and  subsequently  I informed  them 
the  speech  would  have  to  be  a political  one.  When  I 
reached  New  York,  I learned  for  the  first  time  that  the 
place  was  changed  to  Cooper  Institute.  I made  the 
speech,  and  left  for  New  England,  where  I have  a son  at 
school,  neither  asking  for  pay  nor  having  any  offered  me. 
Three  days  after,  a check  for  $200  was  sent  me,  and  I 
took  it,  and  did  not  know  it  was  wrong.  My  understand- 
ing now  is  — though  I knew  nothing  of  it  at  the  time  — 
that  they  did  charge  for  admittance  at  the  Cooper  Insti- 
tute, and  that  they  took  in  more  than  twice  $200.  I have 
made  this  explanation  to  you  as  a friend;  but  I wish  no 
explanation  made  to  our  enemies.  What  they  want  is  a 
squabble  and  a fuss;  and  that  they  can  have  if  we  explain; 
and  they  cannot  have  it  if  we  don’t.  When  I returned 
through  New  York  from  New  England,  I was  told  by  the 
gentleman  who  sent  me  the  check  that  a drunken  vaga- 
bond in  the  club,  having  learned  something  about  the 
$200,  made  the  exhibition  out  of  which  the  ‘Herald’ 
manufactured  the  article  quoted  by  the  ‘Press’  of  your 
town.  My  judgment  is,  and  therefore  my  request  is, 
that  you  give  no  denial,  and  no  explanations. 

Thanking  you  for  your  kind  interest  in  the  matter,  I 
remain, 

Yours  truly,  A.  Lincoln. 

It  appears  that  on  the  Sunday  which  Lincoln  spent 
in  New  York  City  he  visited  a Sunday  School  in  the 
notorious  region  called  Five  Points,  and  there  made  a 
short  address  to  the  scholars.  After  his  return  to  Spring- 
field,  one  of  his  neighbors,  hearing  of  this,  thought  it 
would  be  a good  subject  for  bantering  Lincoln  about, 
and  accordingly  visited  him  for  that  purpose.  This 
neighbor  was  generally  known  as  “Jim,”  just  as  Lincoln 
was  called  “Abe.”  The  following  account  of  his  visit, 
furnished  by  Mr.  Edward  Eggleston,  shows  that  he  did 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  225 


not  derive  as  much  fun  from  the  “bantering”  as  he  had 
expected:  “He  started  for  ‘Old  Abe’s’  office;  but  burst- 
ing open  the  door  impulsively,  found  a stranger  in  con- 
versation with  Mr.  Lincoln.  He  turned  to  retrace  his 
steps,  when  Lincoln  called  out,  ‘Jim!  What  do  you  want?  ’ 
‘Nothing.’  ‘Yes,  you  do;  come  back.’  After  some 
entreaty  ‘Jim’  approached  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  remarked, 
with  a twinkle  in  his  eye,  ‘Well,  Abe,  I see  you  have  been 
making  a speech  to  Sunday  School  children.  What’s 
the  matter?’  ‘Sit  down,  Jim,  and  I’ll  tell  you  all  about 
it.’  And  with  that  Lincoln  put  his  feet  on  the  stove,  and 
began:  ‘When  Sunday  morning  came,  I didn’t  know 
exactly  what  to  do.  Mr.  Washburne  asked  me  where  I 
was  going.  I told  him  I had  nowhere  to  go;  and  he 
proposed  to  take  me  down  to  the  Five  Points  Sunday 
School,  to  show  me  something  worth  seeing.  I was  very 
much  interested  by  what  I saw.  Presently,  Mr.  Pease 
came  up  and  spoke  to  Mr.  Washburne,  who  introduced 
me.  Mr.  Pease  wanted  us  to  speak.  Washburne  spoke, 
and  then  I was  urged  to  speak.  I told  them  I did  not 
know  anything  about  talking  to  Sunday  Schools,  but 
Mr.  Pease  said  many  of  the  children  were  friendless  and 
homeless,  and  that  a few  words  would  do  them  good. 
Washburne  said  I must  talk.  And  so  I rose  to  speak; 
but  I tell  you,  Jim,  I didn’t  know  what  to  say.  I re- 
membered that  Mr.  Pease  said  they  were  homeless  and 
friendless,  and  I thought  of  the  time  when  I had  been 
pinched  by  terrible  poverty.  And  so  I told  them  that  I 
had  been  poor;  that  I remembered  when  my  toes  stuck 
out  through  my  broken  shoes  in  winter;  when  my  arms 
were  out  at  the  elbows;  when  I shivered  with  the  cold. 
And  I told  them  there  was  only  one  rule;  that  was,  always 
do  the  very  best  you  can.  I told  them  that  I had  always 
tried  to  do  the  very  best  I could;  and  that,  if  they  would 
follow  that  rule,  they  would  get  along  somehow.  That 
was  about  what  I said.  And  when  I got  through,  Mr. 


226  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Pease  said  it  was  just  the  thing  they  needed.  And  when 
the  school  was  dismissed,  all  the  teachers  came  up  and 
shook  hands  with  me,  and  thanked  me;  although  I did 
not  know  that  I had  been  saying  anything  of  any  account. 
But  the  next  morning  I saw  my  remarks  noticed  in  the 
papers.’  Just  here  Mr.  Lincoln  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket, 
and  remarked  that  he  had  never  heard  anything  that 
touched  him  as  had  the  songs  which  those  children  sang. 
With  that  he  drew  forth  a little  book,  saying  that  they 
had  given  him  one  of  the  books  from  which  they  sang. 
He  began  to  read  a piece  with  all  the  earnestness  of  his 
great,  earnest  soul.  In  the  middle  of  the  second  verse 
his  friend  ‘Jim’  felt  a choking  in  his  throat  and  a tick- 
ling in  his  nose.  At  the  beginning  of  the  third  verse  he 
saw  that  the  stranger  was  weeping,  and  his  own  tears 
fell  fast.  Turning  toward  Lincoln,  who  was  reading 
straight  on,  he  saw  the  great  blinding  tears  in  his  eyes, 
so  that  he  could  not  possibly  see  the  pages.  He  was 
repeating  that  little  song  from  memory.  How  often  he 
had  read  it,  or  how  long  its  sweet  and  simple  accents 
continued  to  reverberate  through  his  soul,  no  one  can 
know.” 


CHAPTER  XIII 


Looking  Towards  the  Presidency  — The  Illinois  Republican  Conven- 
tion of  1860 — A “Send-Off”  for  Lincoln  — The  National  Re- 
publican Convention  at  Chicago  — Contract  of  the  Leading 
Candidates — -Lincoln  Nominated  — Scenes  at  the  Convention  — 
Sketches  by  Eye-Witnesses  — Lincoln  Hearing  the  News  — The 
Scene  at  Springfield  — A Visit  to  Lincoln  at  His  Home  — Recol- 
lections of  a Distinguished  Sculptor  — Receiving  the  Committee 
of  the  Convention — Nomination  of  Douglas- — Campaign  of  1860 
— Various  Campaign  Reminiscences  — Lincoln  and  the  Tall 
Southerner  — The  Vote  of  the  Springfield  Clergy  — A Graceful 
Letter  to  the  Poet  Bryant  — “ Looking  up  Hard  Spots.” 

IN  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1859,  after  Lincoln  had 
gained  considerable  national  prominence  through 
events  already  briefly  narrated,  some  of  his  friends  began 
to  consider  the  expediency  of  bringing  him  forward  as  a 
candidate  for  the  Presidency  in  1860.  The  young  Repub- 
lican party  had  thus  far  been  in  the  minority,  and  the 
necessity  was  generally  felt  of  nominating  a man  who 
would  not  render  himself  objectionable  by  advocating 
extreme  or  unpopular  measures.  The  subject  was  men- 
tioned to  Lincoln,  but  he  seems  not  to  have  taken  it  very 
seriously.  He  said  that  there  were  distinguished  men 
in  the  party  who  were  more  worthy  of  the  nomination, 
and  whose  public  services  entitled  them  to  it.  Toward 
spring  in  1860  Lincoln  consented  to  a conference  on  the 
subject  with  some  of  his  more  intimate  friends.  The 
meeting  took  place  in  a committee-room  in  the  State 
House.  Mr.  Bushnell,  Mr.  Hatch  (then  Secretary  of 
State),  Mr.  Judd  (Chairman  of  the  Republican  State 
Central  Committee),  Mr.  Peck,  and  Mr.  Grimshaw  were 
present.  They  were  unanimous  in  opinion  as  to  the 
expediency  and  propriety  of  making  Lincoln  a candidate. 


228  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


But  he  was  still  reluctant;  he  doubted  that  he  could  get 
the  nomination  even  if  he  wished  it,  and  asked  until  the 
next  morning  to  consider  the  matter.  The  next  day  he 
authorized  his  friends  to  work  for  him,  if  they  so  desired, 
as  a candidate  for  the  Presidency,  at  the  National  Repub- 
lican convention  to  be  held  in  May  at  Chicago. 

It  is  evident  that  while  Lincoln  had  no  serious  expec- 
tation of  receiving  the  nomination,  yet  having  consented 
to  become  a candidate  he  was  by  no  means  indifferent 
on  the  subject.  The  following  confidential  letter  to  his 
friend  N.  B.  Judd  shows  his  feelings  at  this  time. 

Springfield,  III.,  February  9,  1860. 

Hon.  N.  B.  Judd  — Dear  Sir:  — I am  not  in  a position 
where  it  would  hurt  much  for  me  not  to  be  nominated  on 
the  national  ticket;  but  I am  where  it  would  hurt  some 
for  me  not  to  get  the  Illinois  delegates.  What  I expected 
when  I wrote  the  letter  to  Messrs.  Dole  and  others  is  now 
happening.  Your  discomfited  assailants  are  more  bitter 
against  me,  and  they  will,  for  revenge  upon  me,  lay  to 
the  Bates  egg  in  the  South  and  the  Seward  egg  in  the 
North,  and  go  far  towards  squeezing  me  out  in  the  middle 
with  nothing.  Can  you  not  help  me  a little  in  this 
matter  in  your  end  of  the  vineyard?  (I  mean  this  to  be 
private.) 

Yours  as  ever,  A.  Lincoln. 

It  would  seem  that  the  original  intention  of  Lincoln’s 
friends  had  been  to  bring  him  out  as  a candidate  for  the 
Vice-Presidency.  Hon.  E.  M.  Haines  states  that  as  early 
as  the  spring  of  1859,  before  the  adjournment  of  the 
Legislature  of  which  he  was  a member,  some  of  the 
Republican  members  discussed  the  feasibility  of  urging 
Lincoln’s  name  for  the  Vice-Presidency.  Lincoln  appears 
not  to  have  taken  very  strongly  to  the  suggestion.  “I 
recollect,”  says  Mr.  Haines,  “that  one  day  Mr.  Lincoln 
came  to  my  desk  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  to 
make  some  inquiry  regarding  another  member;  and 
during  the  conversation,  referring  to  his  growing  reputa- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  229 


tion,  I remarked  to  him  that  I did  not  know  that  we  would 
be  able  to  make  him  President,  but  perhaps  we  could  do 
the  next  best  thing,  and  make  him  Vice-President.  He 
brightened  up  somewhat,  and  answered  by  a story  which 
I do  not  clearly  recall,  but  the  application  of  which  was 
that  he  scarcely  considered  himself  a big  enough  man 
for  President,  while  the  Vice-Presidency  was  scarcely  big 
enough  office  for  one  who  had  aspired  to  a seat  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States.” 

On  the  9th  and  10th  of  May,  1860,  the  Republicans  of 
Illinois  met  in  convention  at  Decatur.  Lincoln  was 
present,  although  he  is  said  to  have  been  there  as  a mere 
spectator.  It  was,  Mr.  Lamon  tells  us,  “A  very  large  and 
spirited  body,  comprising  the  most  brilliant  as  well  as  the 
shrewdest  men  in  the  party.  It  was  evident  that  some- 
thing of  more  than  usual  importance  was  expected  to 
transpire.  A few  moments  after  the  convention  organized, 
‘Old  Abe’  was  seen  squatting,  or  sitting  on  his  heels,  just 
within  the  door  of  the  convention  building.  Governor 
Oglesby  rose  and  said,  amid  increasing  silence,  ‘I  am 
informed  that  a distinguished  citizen  of  Illinois,  and  one 
whom  Illinois  will  ever  delight  to  honor,  is  present;  and 
I wish  to  move  that  this  body  invite  him  to  a seat  on  the 
stand.’  Here  the  Governor  paused,  as  if  to  work  curiosity 
up  to  the  highest  point;  then  he  shouted  the  magic  name, 
‘ Abraham  Lincoln!’  A roar  of  applause  shook  every 
board  and  joist  of  the  building.  The  motion  was  seconded 
and  passed.  A rush  was  made  for  the  hero,  who  still 
sat  on  his  heels.  He  was  seized  and  jerked  to  his  feet. 
An  effort  was  made  to  ‘jam  him  through  the  crowd’  to 
his  place  of  honor  on  the  stage;  but  the  crowd  was  too 
dense.  Then  he  was  ‘boosted’  — lifted  up  bodily  — 
and  lay  for  a few  seconds  sprawling  and  kicking  upon  the 
heads  and  shoulders  of  the  great  throng.  In  this  manner 
he  was  gradually  pushed  toward  the  stand,  and  finally 
reached  it,  doubtless  to  his  great  relief,  ‘in  the  arms  of 


230  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


some  half-dozen  gentlemen,’  who  set  him  down  in  full 
view  of  his  clamorous  admirers.  ‘The  cheering  was  like 
the  roar  of  the  sea.  Hats  were  thrown  up  by  the  Chicago 
delegation,  as  if  hats  were  no  longer  useful.’  Mr.  Lincoln 
rose,  bowed,  smiled,  blushed,  and  thanked  the  assembly 
as  well  as  he  could  in  the  midst  of  such  a tumult.  A 
gentleman  who  saw  it  all  says,  ‘I  then  thought  him  one 
of  the  most  diffident  and  worst-plagued  men  I ever  saw.’ 
At  another  stage  of  the  proceedings.  Governor  Oglesby 
rose  again  with  another  provoking  and  mysterious  speech. 
‘There  was,’  he  said,  ‘an  old  Democrat  outside  who  had 
something  he  wished  to  present  to  the  convention.’ 
‘Receive  it!’  ‘Receive  it!’  cried  some.  ‘What  is  it?’ 
‘What  is  it?’  yelled  some  of  the  lower  Egyptians,  who 
seemed  to  have  an  idea  that  the  ‘old  Democrat’  might 
want  to  blow  them  up  with  an  infernal  machine.  The 
door  opened;  and  a fine,  robust  old  fellow,  with  an  open 
countenance  and  bronzed  cheeks,  marched  into  the  midst 
of  the  assemblage,  bearing  on  his  shoulder  ‘two  small 
triangular  heart  rails,’  surmounted  by  a banner  with  this 
inscription:  ‘Two  rails  from  a lot  made  by  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  John  Hanks,  in  the  Sangamon  Bottom,  in  the 
year  1830 .’  The  sturdy  rail-bearer  was  old  John  Hanks 
himself,  enjoying  the  great  field-day  of  his  life.  He  was 
met  with  wild  and  tumultuous  cheers,  prolonged  through 
several  minutes;  and  it  was  observed  that  the  Chicago 
and  Central-Illinois  men  sent  up  the  loudest  and  longest 
cheering.  The  scene  was  tempestuous  and  bewildering. 
But  it  ended  at  last;  and  now  the  whole  body,  those  in 
the  secret  and  those  out  of  it,  clamored  for  a speech  from 
Mr.  Lincoln,  who  in  the  meantime  ‘blushed,’  but  seemed 
to  shake  with  inward  laughter.  In  response  to  the 
repeated  calls  he  rose  and  said:  ‘Gentlemen,  I suppose 
you  want  to  know  something  about  those  things’  (point- 
ing to  old  John  and  the  rails).  ‘Well,  the  truth  is,  John 
Hanks  and  I did  make  rails  in  the  Sangamon  Bottom. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  231 


I don’t  know  whether  we  made  those  rails  or  not;  the 
fact  is,  I don’t  think  they  are  a credit  to  the  makers’ 
(laughing  as  he  spoke).  ‘But  I do  know  this:  I made 
rails  then,  and  I think  I could  make  better  ones  than 
these  now.’  By  this  time  the  innocent  Egyptians  began 
to  open  their  eyes;  they  saw  plainly  enough  the  admirable 
Presidential  scheme  unfolded  to  their  view.  The  result 
of  it  all  was  a resolution  declaring  that  ‘Abraham  Lincoln 
is  the  first  choice  of  the  Republican  party  of  Illinois  for 
the  Presidency,  and  instructing  the  delegates  to  the 
Chicago  convention  to  use  all  honorable  means  to  secure 
his  nomination,  and  to  cast  the  vote  of  the  State  as  a unit 
for  him.’ 

On  the  16th  of  May,  1860,  the  National  Republican 
convention  met  at  Chicago.  An  immense  building 
called  “The  Wigwam,”  erected  for  the  occasion,  was 
filled  with  an  excited  throng  numbering  fully  twelve 
thousand.  After  the  usual  preliminaries  the  convention 
settled  down  to  the  serious  work  of  nominating  a candidate 
for  the  Presidency.  From  the  outset  the  contest  was 
clearly  between  Abraham  Lincoln  of  Illinois  and  William 
H.  Seward  of  New  York.  On  the  first  ballot,  Seward’s  vote 
of  173|  was  followed  by  Lincoln  with  102  — the  latter 
having  more  than  double  the  vote  of  his  next  competitor, 
Simon  Cameron  of  Pennsylvania  (51  votes),  who  was 
followed  by  Salmon  P.  Chase  of  Ohio  (49  votes)  and 
Edward  Bates  of  Missouri  (48  votes).  A contrast  be- 
tween these  two  remarkable  men,  Seward  and  Lincoln, 
now  political  antagonists  but  soon  to  be  intimately  asso- 
ciated at  the  head  of  the  Government  — one  as  President 
and  the  other  as  his  prime  minister  — is  most  interesting 
and  instructive.  Seward  was  a trained  statesman  and 
experienced  politician  of  ripe  culture  and  great  sagacity, 
the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Republican  party,  New 
York’s  ex-Governor  and  now  its  most  distinguished 
Senator.  His  position  and  career  were  therefore  far  more 


232  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


conspicuous  than  those  of  Lincoln.  His  supporters  in 
the  convention  were  well-organized,  bold,  confident,  and 
expected  that  he  would  be  nominated  by  acclamation. 
Lincoln,  on  the  other  hand,  was  still  essentially  a coun- 
try lawyer,  who  had  come  into  prominence  mainly  as 
the  competitor  of  Senator  Douglas  in  Illinois  in  1858. 
With  all  his  native  strength  of  mind  and  force  of  character, 
he  was,  compared  with  the  polished  Seward,  a rude  back- 
woodsman, unskilled  in  handling  the  reins  of  government, 
unfamiliar  with  the  wiles  of  statecraft,  and  unused  to 
the  company  of  diplomats  and  social  leaders.  His  political 
reputation,  and  his  support  in  the  convention,  were  chiefly 
Western.  Yet  his  Cooper  Institute  speech,  delivered 
three  months  before  the  convention  met,  had  done  much 
for  him  in  the  East;  and  the  homely  title  of  “Honest  Old 
Abe”  had  extended  throughout  the  free  States.  Unlike 
Seward,  he  had  no  political  enemies,  and  was  the  second 
choice  of  most  of  the  delegates  whose  first  choice  was 
some  other  candidate. 

In  political  management  and  strategy  the  Western  men 
at  the  convention  soon  showed  that  they  were  at  best  a 
match  for  those  from  the  East.  Soon  after  the  opening 
of  the  convention,  Lincoln’s  friends  saw  that  there  was  an 
organized  body  of  men  in  the  crowd  who  cheered  vocifer- 
ously whenever  Seward’s  name  was  mentioned.  “At  a 
meeting  of  the  Illinois  delegation  at  the  Tremont  House,” 
says  Mr.  Arnold,  “on  the  evening  of  the  first  day,  at 
which  Judd,  Davis,  Cook  and  others  were  present,  it  was 
decided  that  on  the  second  day  Illinois  and  the  West 
should  be  heard.  There  was  then  living  in  Chicago  a 
man  whose  voice  could  drown  the  roar  of  Lake  Michigan 
in  its  wildest  fury;  nay,  it  was  said  that  his  shout  could 
be  heard  on  a calm  day  across  that  lake.  Cook  of  Ottawa 
knew  another  man  living  on  the  Illinois  river,  a Dr.  Ames, 
who  had  never  found  his  equal  in  his  ability  to  shout  and 
hurrah.  He  was,  however,  a Democrat.  Cook  telegraphed 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  233 


to  him  to  come  to  Chicago  by  the  first  train.  These  two 
men  with  stentorian  voices  met  some  of  the  Illinois  dele- 
gation at  the  Tremont  House,  and  were  instructed  to 
organize  each  a body  of  men  to  cheer  and  shout,  which 
they  speedily  did,  out  of  the  crowds  which  were  in  attend- 
ance from  the  Northwest.  They  were  placed  on  oppo- 
site sides  of  the  Wigwam,  and  instructed  that  when  they 
saw  Cook  take  out  his  white  handkerchief  they  were  to 
cheer  and  not  to  cease  until  he  returned  it  to  his  pocket. 
Cook  was  conspicuous  on  the  platform,  and  at  the  first 
utterance  of  the  name  of  Lincoln,  simultaneously  with 
the  wave  of  Cook’s  handkerchief,  there  went  up  such  a 
cheer,  such  a shout  as  had  never  before  been  heard,  and 
which  startled  the  friends  of  Seward  as  the  cry  of  ‘Mar- 
mion’  on  Flodden  Field  ‘startled  the  Scottish  foe.’  The 
New  Yorkers  tried  to  follow  when  the  name  of  Seward 
was  spoken,  but,  beaten  at  their  own  game,  their  voices 
were  drowned  by  the  cheers  for  Lincoln.  This  was  kept 
up  until  Lincoln  was  nominated,  amidst  a storm  of 
applause  probably  never  before  equalled  at  a political 
convention.” 

The  result  on  the  first  ballot,  with  Seward  leading 
Lincoln  by  71  \ votes,  has  already  been  given.  On  the 
second  ballot  Seward  gained  11  votes,  giving  him  184^; 
while  Lincoln  made  the  astonishing  gain  of  78  votes, 
giving  him  a total  of  181  and  reducing  Seward’s  lead  of 
71 1 votes  to  3f  votes.  There  was  no  longer  doubt  of 
the  result.  The  third  ballot  came,  and  Lincoln,  passing 
Seward  who  had  fallen  off  3f  votes  from  the  previous 
ballot,  ran  rapidly  up  to  23 1|  votes  — 233  being  the 
number  required  to  nominate.  Lincoln  now  lacked  but 
a vote  and  a half  to  make  him  the  nominee.  At  this 
juncture,  the  chairman  of  the  Ohio  delegation  rose  and 
changed  four  votes  from  Chase  to  Lincoln,  giving  him 
the  nomination.  The  Wigwam  was  shaken  to  its  founda- 
tion by  the  roaring  cheers.  The  multitude  in  the  streets 


234  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


answered  the  multitude  within,  and  in  a moment  more 
all  the  volunteer  artillery  of  Chicago  joined  in  the  grand 
acclamation.  After  a time  the  business  of  the  conven- 
tion proceeded,  amid  great  excitement.  All  the  votes 
that  had  heretofore  been  cast  against  Lincoln  were  cast 
for  him  before  this  ballot  concluded.  The  convention 
completed  its  work  by  the  nomination  of  Hannibal 
Hamlin  of  Maine  for  Vice-President. 

Mr.  F.  B.  Carpenter,  who  was  present  at  Lincoln’s 
nomination,  furnishes  a graphic  sketch  of  this  dramatic 
episode.  “The  scene  surpassed  description.  Men  had 
been  stationed  upon  the  roof  of  the  Wigwam  to  com- 
municate the  result  of  the  different  ballots  to  the  thou- 
sands outside,  far  outnumbering  the  packed  crowd  inside. 
To  these  men  one  of  the  secretaries  shouted:  ‘Fire  the 
salute ! Lincoln  is  nominated ! ’ Then,  as  the  cheering  in- 
side died  away,  the  roar  began  on  the  outside,  and  swelled 
up  from  the  excited  masses  like  the  noise  of  many  waters. 
This  the  insiders  heard,  and  to  it  they  replied.  Thus 
deep  called  to  deep  with  such  a frenzy  of  sympathetic 
enthusiasm  that  even  the  thundering  salute  of  cannon 
was  unheard  by  many  on  the  platform.  When  the  ex- 
citement had  partly  subsided,  Mr.  Evarts  of  New  York 
arose,  and  in  appropriate  words  expressed  his  grief  that 
Seward  had  not  been  nominated.  He  then  moved  that 
the  nomination  of  Abraham  Lincoln  be  made  unanimous. 
Governor  John  A.  Andrew  of  Massachusetts  and  Hon. 
Carl  Schurz  of  Wisconsin  seconded  the  motion,  and  it  was 
carried.  Then  the  enthusiasm  of  the  multitude  burst 
out  anew.  • A large  banner,  prepared  by  the  Pennsyl- 
vania delegation,  was  conspicuously  displayed,  bearing 
the  inscription,  ‘Pennsylvania  good  for  twenty  thousand 
majority  for  the  people’s  candidate,  Abe  Lincoln.’  Dele- 
gates tore  up  the  sticks  and  boards  bearing  the  names 
of  their  several  States,  and  waved  them  aloft  over  their 
heads.  A brawny  man  jumped  upon  the  platform,  and 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  235 


pulling  his  coat-sleeves  up  to  his  elbows,  shouted:  ‘I 
can’t  stop!  Three  times  three  more  cheers  for  our  next 
President,  Abe  Lincoln!’  A full-length  portrait  of  the 
candidate  was  produced  upon  the  platform.  Mr.  Greeley 
telegraphed  to  the  N.  Y.  Tribune:  ‘There  was  never 
another  such  scene  in  America.’  Chicago  went  wild. 
One  hundred  guns  were  fired  from  the  top  of  the  Tremont 
House.  At  night  the  city  was  in  a blaze  of  glory.  Bon- 
fires, processions,  torchlights,  fire-works,  illuminations 
and  salutes,  ‘filled  the  air  with  noise  and  the  eye  with 
beauty.’  ‘Honest  Old  Abe’  was  the  utterance  of  every 
man  in  the  streets.  The  Illinois  delegation  before  it 
separated  ‘resolved’  that  the  millennium  had  come.” 

Governor  Andrew,  who  was  destined  to  have  highly 
important  and  intimate  relations  with  Lincoln  during  the 
Civil  War,  records  his  first  impressions  of  him  in  a few 
vivid  sentences.  “ Beyond  the  experiences  of  the  journey 
from  Boston  to  Chicago,”  says  Andrew’s  biographer, 
“beyond  even  the  strain  and  excitement  of  those  hours 
in  caucus  and  convention,  was  the  impression  made  on. 
him  by  Lincoln  as  he  saw  him  for  the  first  time.” 
Andrew  was  one  of  the  committee  of  delegates  who  went 
to  Springfield  to  notify  Lincoln  of  his  nomination  at 
Chicago.  He  and  the  other  delegates,  he  says,  “saw  in 
a flash  that  here  was  a man  who  was  master  of  himself. 
For  the  first  time  they  understood  that  he  whom  they 
had  supposed  to  be  little  more  than  a loquacious  and 
clever  State  politician,  had  force,  insight,  conscience;  that 
their  misgivings  were  vain.  . . . My  eyes  were  never 
visited  with  the  vision  of  a human  face  in  which  more 
transparent  honesty  and  more  benignant  kindness  were 
combined  with  more  of  the  intellect  and  firmness  which 
belong  to  masculine  humanity.  I would  trust  my  case 
with  the  honesty  and  intellect  and  heart  and  brain  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  as  a lawyer;  and  I would  trust  my 
country’s  cause  in  the  care  of  Abraham  Lincoln  as  its 


236  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


chief  magistrate,  while  the  wind  blows  and  the  water 
runs.” 

Dr.  J.  G.  Holland  gives  a vivid  picture  of  Lincoln’s 
reception  of  the  exciting  news.  “In  the  little  city  of 
Springfield,”  says  Dr.  Holland,  “in  the  heart  of  Illinois, 
two  hundred  miles  from  where  these  exciting  events  were 
in  progress,  sat  Abraham  Lincoln,  in  constant  telegraphic 
communication  with  his  friends  in  Chicago.  He  was 
apprised  of  the  results  of  every  ballot,  and  with  some  of 
his  friends  sat  in  the  ‘Journal’  office  receiving  and  com- 
menting upon  the  dispatches.  It  was  one  of  the  decisive 
moments  of  his  life  — a moment  on  which  hung  his  fate 
as  a public  man,  his  place  in  history.  He  fully  appre- 
ciated the  momentous  results  of  the  convention  to  himself 
and  the  nation,  and  foresaw  the  nature  of  the  great  strug- 
gle which  his  nomination  and  election  would  inaugurate. 
At  last,  in  the  midst  of  intense  excitement,  a messenger 
from  the  telegraph  office  entered  with  the  decisive  dis- 
patch in  his  hand.  Without  handing  it  to  anyone,  he 
took  his  way  solemnly  to  the  side  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and 
said:  ‘The  convention  has  made  a nomination,  and  Mr. 

Seward  is the  second  man  on  the  list.’  Then  he 

jumped  upon  the  editorial  table  and  shouted,  ‘Gentlemen, 
I propose  three  cheers  for  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  next 
President  of  the  United  States!’  and  the  call  was  bois- 
terously responded  to.  He  then  handed  the  dispatch 
to  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  read  it  in  silence,  and  then  aloud. 
After  exchanging  greetings  and  receiving  congratulations 
from  those  around  him,  he  strove  to  get  out  of  the  crowd, 
and  as  he  moved  off  he  remarked  to  those  near  him: 
‘Well,  there  is  a little  woman  who  will  be  interested  in 
this  news,  and  I will  go  home  and  tell  her,’  and  he  hurried 
on,  with  the  crowd  following  and  cheering.” 

As  soon  as  the  news  spread  about  Springfield  a salute 
of  a hundred  guns  was  fired,  and  during  the  afternoon 
Lincoln’s  friends  and  neighbors  thronged  his  house  to 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  237 


tender  their  congratulations  and  express  their  joy.  “In 
the  evening,”  says  one  narrator,  “the  State  House  was 
thrown  open  and  a most  enthusiastic  meeting  held  by 
the  Republicans.  At  the  close  they  marched  in  a body  to 
the  Lincoln  mansion  and  called  for  the  nominee.  Mr. 
Lincoln  appeared,  and  after  a brief,  modest,  and  hearty 
speech,  invited  as  many  as  could  get  into  the  house  to 
enter;  the  crowd  responding  that  after  the  fourth  of 
March  they  would  give  him  a larger  house.  The  people 
did  not  retire  until  a late  hour,  and  then  moved  off  re- 
luctantly, leaving  the  excited  household  to  their  rest.” 

Among  the  more  significant  and  intimate  of  the  per- 
sonal reminiscences  of  Lincoln  are  those  by  Mr.  Leonard 
W.  Yolk,  the  distinguished  sculptor  already  mentioned 
in  these  pages.  Mr.  Volk  arrived  in  Springfield  on  the 
day  of  Lincoln’s  nomination,  and  had  some  unusually 
interesting  conversation  with  him.  He  had  already, 
only  a month  before,  made  the  life-mask  of  Lincoln  that 
became  so  well  and  favorably  known.  It  is  one  of  the 
last  representations  showing  him  without  a beard.  The 
circumstances  and  incidents  attending  the  taking  of  this 
life-mask,  as  narrated  by  Mr.  Volk,  are  well  worth  re- 
producing here.  “One  morning  in  April,  1860,”  says 
Mr.  Volk,  “I  noticed  in  the  paper  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  in  Chicago,  — retained  as  one  of  the  counsel  in  a 
‘Sand-bar’  trial  in  which  the  Michigan  Central  Railroad 
was  either  plaintiff  or  defendant.  I at  once  decided  to 
remind  him  of  his  promise  to  sit  to  me,  made  two  years 
before.  I found  him  in  the  United  States  District  Court 
room,  his  feet  on  the  edge  of  the  table,  and  his  long  dark 
hair  standing  out  at  every  imaginable  angle.  He  was 
surrounded  by  a group  of  lawyers,  such  as  James  F.  Joy, 
Isaac  N.  Arnold,  Thomas  Hoyne,  and  others.  Mr. 
Arnold  obtained  his  attention  in  my  behalf,  when  he 
instantly  arose  and  met  me  outside  the  rail,  recognizing 
me  at  once  with  his  usual  grip  of  both  hands.  He  re- 


238  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


membered  his  promise,  and  said,  in  answer  to  my  ques- 
tion, that  he  expected  to  be  detained  by  the  case  for  a 
week.  He  added : ‘ I shall  be  glad  to  give  you  the  sittings. 
When  shall  I come,  and  how  long  will  you  need  me  each 
time?’  Just  after  breakfast  every  morning  would,  he 
said,  suit  him  the  best,  and  he  could  remain  till  court 
opened  at  ten  o’clock.  I answered  that  I would  be  ready 
for  him  the  next  morning  (Thursday).  ‘Very  well,  Mr. 
Volk,  I will  be  there,  and  I’ll  go  to  a barber  and  have  my 
hair  cut  before  I come.’  I requested  him  not  to  let  the 
barber  cut  it  too  short,  and  said  I would  rather  he  would 
leave  it  as  it  was;  but  to  this  he  would  not  consent.  . . . 
He  was  on  hand  promptly  at  the  time  appointed;  indeed, 
he  never  failed  to  be  on  time.  My  studio  was  in  the 
fifth  story.  There  were  no  elevators  in  those  days,  and 
I soon  learned  to  distinguish  his  step  on  the  stairs,  and 
am  sure  he  frequently  came  up  two,  if  not  three,  steps  at 
a stride.  When  he  sat  down  the  first  time  in  that  hard, 
wooden,  low-armed  chair  which  I still  possess,  and  which 
has  been  occupied  by  Douglas,  Seward,  and  Generals 
Grant  and  Dix,  he  said,  ‘Mr.  Volk,  I have  never  sat 
before  to  sculptor  or  painter  — only  for  daguerreotypes 
and  photographs.  What  shall  I do?  ’ I told  him  I would 
only  take  the  measurements  of  his  head  and  shoulders 
that  time,  and  that  the  next  morning  I would  make  a 
cast  of  his  face,  which  would  save  him  a number  of  sittings. 
He  stood  up  against  the  wall,  and  I made  a mark  above 
his  head,  and  then  measured  up  to  it  from  the  floor  and 
said:  ‘You  are  just  twelve  inches  taller  than  Judge 
Douglas;  that  is,  just  six  feet  four  inches.’ 

“Before  commencing  the  cast  next  morning,  and 
knowing  Mr.  Lincoln’s  fondness  for  a story,  I told  him 
one  in  order  to  remove  what  I thought  an  apprehensive 
expression  — as  though  he  feared  the  operation  might 
be  dangerous.  He  sat  naturally  in  the  chair  when  I made 
the  cast,  and  saw  every  move  I made  in  a mirror  opposite, 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  239 


as  I put  the  plaster  on  without  interference  with  his 
eyesight  or  his  free  breathing  through  the  nostrils.  It 
was  about  an  hour  before  the  mould  was  ready  to  be 
removed,  and  being  all  in  one  piece,  with  both  ears  per- 
fectly taken,  it  clung  pretty  hard,  as  the  cheek-bones 
were  higher  than  the  jaws  at  the  lobe  of  the  ear.  He 
bent  his  head  low,  and  worked  the  cast  off  without  break- 
ing or  injury;  it  hurt  a little,  as  a few  hairs  of  the  tender 
temples  pulled  out  with  the  plaster  and  made  his  eyes 
water. 

“He  entered  my  studio  on  Sunday  morning,  remarking 
that  a friend  at  the  hotel  (Tremont  House)  had  invited 
him  to  go  to  church,  ‘but,’  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  ‘I  thought 
I’d  rather  come  and  sit  for  the  bust.  The  fact  is,’  he 
continued,  ‘I  don’t  like  to  hear  cut-and-dried  sermons. 
No  — when  I hear  a man  preach,  I like  to  see  him  act 
as  if  he  were  fighting  bees!'  And  he  extended  his  long 
arms,  at  the  same  time  suiting  the  action  to  the  words. 
He  gave  me  on  this  day  a long  sitting  of  more  than  four 
hours,  and  when  it  was  concluded  we  went  to  our  family 
apartment  to  look  at  a collection  of  photographs  which 
I had  made  in  1855-6-7  in  Rome  and  Florence.  While 
sitting  in  the  rocking-chair,  he  took  my  little  son  on  his 
lap  and  spoke  kindly  to  him,  asking  his  name,  age,  etc. 
I held  the  photographs  up  and  explained  them  to  him; 
but  I noticed  a growing  weariness,  and  his  eyelids  closed 
occasionally  as  if  he  were  sleepy,  or  were  thinking  of 
something  besides  Grecian  and  Roman  statuary  and 
architecture.  Finally  he  said,  ‘These  things  must  be 
very  interesting  to  you,  Mr.  Volk;  but  the  truth  is,  I 
don’t  know  much  of  history,  and  all  I do  know  of  it 
I have  learned  from  law  books.’ 

“The  sittings  were  continued  daily  till  the  Thursday 
following;  and  during  their  continuance  he  would  talk 
almost  unceasingly,  telling  some  of  the  funniest  and  most 
laughable  of  stories,  but  he  talked  little  of  politics  or 


240  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


religion  during  these  sittings.  He  said,  ‘I  am  bored 
nearly  every  time  I sit  down  to  a public  dining-table  by 
some  one  pitching  into  me  on  politics.’  Many  people, 
presumably  political  aspirants  with  an  eye  to  future 
prospects,  besieged  my  door  for  interviews,  but  I made 
it  a rule  to  keep  it  locked,  and  I think  Mr.  Lincoln  appre- 
ciated the  precaution.  On  our  last  sitting  I noticed  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  in  something  of  a hurry.  I had  finished 
the  head,  but  desired  to  represent  his  breast  and  brawny 
shoulders  as  nature  presented  them;  so  he  stripped  off 
his  coat,  waistcoat,  shirt,  cravat,  and  collar,  threw  them 
on  a chair,  pulled  his  undershirt  down  a short  distance, 
tying  the  sleeves  behind  him,  and  stood  up  without  a 
murmur  for  an  hour  or  so.  I then  said  I had  done,  and 
was  a thousand  times  obliged  to  him  for  his  promptness 
and  patience,  and  offered  to  assist  him  to  re-dress,  but  he 
said,  ‘No,  I can  do  it  better  alone.’  I kept  at  my  work 
without  looking  toward  him,  wishing  to  catch  the  form  as 
accurately  as  possible  while  it  was  fresh  in  my  memory. 
He  left  hurriedly,  saying  he  had  an  engagement;  and 
with  a cordial  ‘Good-bye!  I will  see  you  again  soon,’ 
passed  out.  A few  minutes  after,  I recognized  his  steps 
rapidly  returning.  The  door  opened  and  in  he  came, 
exclaiming,  ‘Hello,  Mr.  Volk!  I got  down  on  the  sidewalk, 
and  found  I had  forgotten  to  put  on  my  undershirt,  and 
thought  it  wouldn’t  do  to  go  through  the  streets  this  way.’ 
Sure  enough,  there  were  the  sleeves  of  that  garment 
dangling  below  the  skirts  of  his  broadcloth  frock-coat! 
I went  at  once  to  his  assistance,  and  helped  to  undress 
and  re-dress  him  all  right,  and  out  he  went  with  a hearty 
laugh  at  the  absurdity  of  the  thing.” 

Returning  to  the  visit  with  Lincoln  at  Springfield  on 
the  day  of  his  nomination,  Mr.  Volk  says:  “The  after- 
noon was  lovely  — bright  and  sunny,  neither  too  warm 
nor  too  cool;  the  grass,  trees,  and  the  hosts  of  blooming 
roses,  so  profuse  in  Springfield,  appeared  to  be  vying 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  241 


with  the  ringing  bells  and  waving  flags.  I went  straight 
to  Mr.  Lincoln’s  unpretentious  little  two-story  house. 
He  saw  me  from  his  door  or  window  coming  down  the 
street,  and  as  I entered  the  gate  he  was  on  the  platform  in 
front  of  the  door,  and  quite  alone.  His  face  looked 
radiant.  I exclaimed:  ‘I  am  the  first  man  from  Chicago, 
I believe,  who  has  the  honor  of  congratulating  you  on 
your  nomination  for  President.’  Then  those  two  great 
hands  took  both  of  mine  with  a grasp  never  to  be  forgot- 
ten. And  while  shaking  them,  I said:  ‘Now  that  you 
will  doubtless  be  the  next  President  of  the  United  States, 
I want  to  make  a statue  of  you,  and  shall  do  my  best  to 
do  you  justice.’  Said  he,  ‘I  don’t  doubt  it,  for  I have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  you-  are  an  honest  man,’  and 
with  that  greeting  I thought  my  hands  were  in  a fair 
way  of  being  crushed.  I was  invited  into  the  parlor, 
and  soon  Mrs.  Lincoln  entered,  holding  a rose-bouquet 
in  her  hand,  which  she  presented  to  me  after  the  intro- 
duction; and  in  return  I gave  her  a cabinet-size  bust  of 
her  husband,  which  I had  modelled  from  the  large  one, 
and  happened  to  have  with  me.  Before  leaving  the 
house  it  was  arranged  that  Mr.  Lincoln  would  give 
Saturday  forenoon  to  obtaining  full-length  photographs 
to  serve  me  for  the  proposed  statue.  On  Saturday 
evening,  the  committee  appointed  by  the  convention  to 
notify  Mr.  Lincoln  formally  of  his  nomination,  headed 
by  Mr.  Ashmun  of  Massachusetts,  reached  Springfield 
by  special  train,  bearing  a large  number  of  people,  two 
or  three  hundred  of  whom  carried  rails  on  their  shoulders, 
marching  in  military  style  from  the  train  to  the  old  State 
House  Hall  of  Representatives,  where  they  stacked  them 
like  muskets.  The  evening  was  beautiful  and  clear,  and 
the  entire  population  was  astir.  The  bells  pealed,  flags 
waved,  and  cannon  thundered  forth  the  triumphant 
nomination  of  Springfield’s  distinguished  citizen.  The 
bonfires  blazed  brightly,  and  especially  in  front  of  that 


242  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


prim-looking  white  house  on  Eighth  street.  The  com- 
mittee and  the  vast  crowd  following  it  passed  in  at  the 
front  door,  and  made  their  exit  through  the  kitchen  door 
in  the  rear,  Mr.  Lincoln  giving  them  all  a hearty  shake 
of  the  hand  as  they  passed  him  in  the  parlor.  By  ap- 
pointment, I was  to  cast  Mr.  Lincoln’s  hands  on  the 
Sunday  following  this  memorable  Saturday,  at  nine  a.m. 
I found  him  ready,  but  he  looked  more  grave  and  serious 
than  he  had  appeared  on  the  previous  days.  I wished 
him  to  hold  something  in  his  right  hand,  and  he  looked 
for  a piece  of  pasteboard,  but  could  find  none.  I told 
him  a round  stick  would  do  as  well  as  anything.  There- 
upon he  went  to  the  wood-shed,  and  I heard  the  saw  go, 
and  he  soon  returned  to  the  dining-room  (where  I did  the 
work),  whittling  off  the  end  of  a piece  of  broom-handle. 
I remarked  to  him  that  he  need  not  whittle  off  the  edges. 
‘Oh,  well,’  said  he,  ‘I  thought  I would  like  to  have  it 
nice.’  When  I had  successfully  cast  the  mould  of  the 
right  hand,  I began  the  left,  pausing  a few  moments  to 
hear  Mr.  Lincoln  tell  me  about  a scar  on  the  thumb. 
‘You  have  heard  that  they  call  me  a rail-splitter,  and  you 
saw  them  carrying  rails  in  the  procession  Saturday  even- 
ing; well,  it  is  true  that  I did  split  rails,  and  one  day, 
while  I was  sharpening  a wedge  on  a log,  the  axe  glanced 
and  nearly  took  my  thumb  off,  and  there  is  the  scar,  you 
see.’  The  right  hand  appeared  swollen  as  compared  with 
the  left,  on  account  of  excessive  hand-shaking  the  evening 
before;  this  difference  is  distinctly  shown  in  the  cast. 
That  Sunday  evening  I returned  to  Chicago  with  the 
moulds  of  his  hands,  three  photographic  negatives  of 
him,  the  identical  black  alpaca  campaign  suit  of  1858, 
and  a pair  of  Lynn  newly-made  pegged  boots.  The 
clothes  were  all  burned  up  in  the  great  Chicago  fire.  The 
casts  of  the  face  and  hands  I saved  by  taking  them  with 
me  to  Rome,  and  they  have  crossed  the  sea  four  times. 
The  last  time  I saw  Mr.  Lincoln  was  in  January,  1861,  at 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  243 


his  house  in  Springfield.  His  little  parlor  was  full  of 
friends  and  politicians.  He  introduced  me  to  them  all, 
and  remarked  to  me  aside  that  since  he  had  sat  to  me  for 
his  bust,  eight  or  nine  months  before,  he  had  lost  forty 
pounds  in  weight.  This  was  easily  perceptible,  for  the 
lines  of  his  jaws  were  very  sharply  defined  through  the 
short  beard  which  he  was  allowing  to  grow.  Then  he 
turned  to  the  company  and  explained  in  a general  way 
that  I had  made  a bust  of  him  before  his  nomination, 
and  that  he  was  then  giving  daily  sittings  to  another 
sculptor;  that  he  had  sat  to  him  for  a week  or  more,  but 
could  not  see  the  likeness,  though  he  might  yet  bring  it 
out.  ‘But,’  continued  Mr.  Lincoln,  ‘in  two  or  three  days 
after  Mr.  Volk  began  my  bust,  there  was  the  animal 
himself!’  And  this  was  about  the  last,  if  not  the  last, 
remark  I ever  heard  him  utter,  except  the  good-bye  and 
his  good  wishes  for  my  success.” 

Saturday,  May  19,  the  committee  of  the  Chicago  con- 
vention arrived  at  Springfield  to  notify  Mr.  Lincoln  of 
his  nomination.  The  Hon.  George  Ashmun,  as  chair- 
man of  the  committee,  delivered  the  formal  address,  to 
which  Lincoln  listened  with  dignity,  but  with  an  air 
of  profound  sadness,  as  though  the  trials  in  store  for  him 
had  already  “cast  their  shadows  before.”  In  response 
to  the  address,  Lincoln  said: 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Committee: 
— I tender  to  you  and  through  you  to  the  Republican 
National  convention,  and  all  the  people  represented  in  it, 
my  profoundest  thanks  for  the  high  honor  done  me,  which 
you  now  formally  announce.  Deeply  and  even  pain- 
fully sensible  of  the  great  responsibility  which  is  insepa- 
rable from  this  high  honor  — a responsibility  which  I 
could  almost  wish  had  fallen  upon  some  one  of  the  far 
more  eminent  men  and  experienced  statesmen  whose 
distinguished  names  were  before  the  convention  — I 
shall,  by  your  leave,  consider  more  fully  the  resolutions 
of  the  convention,  denominated  the  platform,  and,  with- 


244  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


out  unnecessary  and  unreasonable  delay,  respond  to  you, 
Mr.  Chairman,  in  writing,  not  doubting  that  the  platform 
will  be  found  satisfactory,  and  the  nomination  gratefully 
accepted.  And  now  I will  not  longer  defer  the  pleasure 
of  taking  you,  and  each  of  you,  by  the  hand. 

A letter  was  then  handed  Lincoln  containing  the 
official  notice,  accompanied  by  the  resolutions  of  the 
convention.  To  this  letter  he  replied,  a few  days  later, 
as  follows: 

Springfield,  Illinois,  Mat  23,  1860. 

Sir  — I accept  the  nomination  tendered  to  me  by  the 
convention  over  which  you  presided,  of  which  I am 
formally  apprised  in  a letter  of  yourself  and  others  acting 
as  a Committee  of  the  Convention  for  that  purpose. 
The  declaration  of  principles  and  sentiments  which 
accompanies  your  letter  meets  my  approval,  and  it  shall 
be  my  care  not  to  violate  it,  or  disregard  it  in  any  part. 
Imploring  the  assistance  of  Divine  Providence,  and  with 
due  regard  to  the  views  and  feelings  of  all  who  were 
represented  in  the  convention,  to  the  rights  of  all  the 
States  and  Territories  and  people  of  the  nation,  to  the 
inviolability  of  the  Constitution,  and  the  perpetual 
union,  harmony  and  prosperity  of  all,  I am  most  happy 
to  co-operate  for  the  practical  success  of  the  principles 
declared  by  the  convention. 

In  June  Mr.  Douglas  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency 
by  the  Democratic  convention,  which  met  at  Baltimore 
on  the  18th.  Mr.  Douglas  made  a personal  canvass, 
speaking  in  most  of  the  states,  North  and  South,  and 
exerting  all  the  powers  of  which  he  was  master  to  win 
success.  The  campaign,  as  Mr.  Arnold  states,  “has  had 
no  parallel.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  people  was  like  a 
great  conflagration,  like  a prairie  fire  before  a wild  tornado. 
A little  more  than  twenty  years  had  passed  since  Owen 
Lovejoy,  brother  of  Elijah  Lovejoy,  on  the  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  kneeling  on  the  turf  not  then  green  over  the 
grave  of  the  brother  who  had  been  killed  for  his  fidelity 
to  freedom,  had  sworn  eternal  war  against  slavery.  From 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  245 


that  time  on,  he  and  his  associate  Abolitionists  had  gone 
forth  preaching  their  crusade  against  oppression,  with 
hearts  of  fire  and  tongues  of  lightning;  and  now  the 
consummation  was  to  be  realized  of  a President  elected 
on  the  distinct  ground  of  opposition  to  the  extension  of 
slavery.  For  years  the  hatred  of  that  institution  had 
been  growing  and  gathering  force.  Whittier,  Bryant, 
Lowell,  Longfellow,  and  others,  had  written  the  lyrics  of 
liberty;  the  graphic  pen  of  Mrs.  Stowe,  in  ‘Uncle  Tom’s 
Cabin,’  had  painted  the  cruelties  of  the  overseer  and  the 
slaveholder;  but  the  acts  of  slaveholders  themselves 
did  more  to  promote  the  growth  of  anti-slavery  than  all 
other  causes.  The  persecutions  of  Abolitionists  in  the 
South;  the  harshness  and  cruelty  attending  the  execu- 
tion of  the  fugitive  laws;  the  brutality  of  Brooks  in 
knocking  dowrn,  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  Charles  Sum- 
ner, for  words  spoken  in  debate:  these  and  many  other 
outrages  had  fired  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  the  free 
States  against  this  barbarous  institution.  Beecher,  Phil- 
lips, Channing,  Sumner,  and  Seward,  with  their  eloquence; 
Chase  with  his  logic;  Lincoln,  with  his  appeals  to  the 
principles  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  to 
the  opinions  of  the  founders  of  the  republic,  his  clear 
statements,  his  apt  illustrations,  and,  above  all,  his  wise 
moderation,  — all  had  swelled  the  voice  of  the  people, 
which  found  expression  through  the  ballot-box,  and  which 
declared  that  slavery  should  go  no  further.” 

Among  the  various  reminiscences  of  the  memorable 
Presidential  campaign  of  1860,  some  of  peculiar  interest 
are  furnished  by  Dr.  Newton  Bateman,  President  of 
Knox  College,  Illinois.  Dr.  Bateman  had  known 
Lincoln  since  1842;  and  from  the  year  1858,  when  Dr. 
Bateman  was  elected  State  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction  in  Illinois,  to  the  close  of  Lincoln’s  resi- 
dence in  Springfield  in  1861,  they  saw  each  other  daily. 
The  testimony  of  so  intimate  an  acquaintance,  and  one 


246  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


so  well  qualified  to  judge  the  character  and  abilities  of 
men,  is  of  unusual  value;  and  it  is  worth  noting  that  Dr. 
Bateman  remarks  that,  while  he  was  always  an  admirer 
of  Lincoln,  yet  the  greatness  of  the  man  grew  upon 
him  as  the  years  pass  by.  In  his  professional  and  public 
work,  says  Dr.  Bateman,  Lincoln  not  only  proved 
himself  equal  to  every  emergency  and  to  every  successive 
task,  but  made,  from  the  outset,  the  impression  upon 
the  mind  of  those  who  knew  him  of  being  in  possession 
of  great  reserve  force.  Perhaps  the  secret  of  this  lies  in 
part  in  the  fact  that  he  was  accustomed  to  ponder  deeply 
upon  the  ultimate  principles  of  government  and  society, 
and  strove  to  base  his  discussions  upon  the  firm  ground 
of  ethical  truth.  Says  Dr.  Bateman,  “He  was  the  sad- 
dest man  I ever  knew.”  It  was  a necessity  of  his  nature 
to  be  much  alone;  and  he  said  that  all  his  serious  work  — 
by  which  he  meant  the  process  of  getting  down  to  the 
bed-rock  of  first  principles  — must  be  done  in  solitude. 
Upon  one  occasion  he  called  Dr.  Bateman  to  him,  and 
spent  more  than  two  hours  in  earnest  conversation  upon 
the  most  serious  themes.  At  the  close,  Dr.  Bateman 
said:  “I  did  not  know,  Mr.  Lincoln,  that  it  was  your 
habit  to  think  so  deeply  upon  this  class  of  subjects.” 
“Didn’t  you?”  said  Mr.  Lincoln.  “I  can  almost  say 
that  I think  of  nothing  else.” 

One  day  there  entered  Lincoln’s  room  a tall  South- 
erner, a Colonel  Somebody  from  Mississippi,  whose  eye’s 
hard  glitter  spoke  supercilious  distrust  and  whose  stiff 
bearing  betokened  suppressed  hostility.  It  was  beauti- 
ful, says  Dr.  Bateman,  to  see  the  cold  flash  of  the  South- 
erner’s dark  eye  yield  to  a warmer  glow,  and  the  haughty 
constraint  melt  into  frank  good-nature,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  Lincoln’s  words  of  simple  earnestness  and 
unaffected  cordiality.  They  got  so  far  in  half  an  hour 
that  Lincoln  could  say,  in  his  hearty  way:  “Colonel, 
how  tall  are  you?  ” “Well,  taller  than  you,  Mr.  Lincoln,” 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  247 


replied  the  Mississippian.  “You  are  mistaken  there,” 
retorted  Lincoln.  “Dr.  Bateman,  will  you  measure 
us?”  “You  will  have  to  permit  me  to  stand  on  a chair 
for  that,”  responded  the  Doctor.  So  a big  book  was 
adjusted  above  the  head  of  each,  and  pencil  marks  made 
at  the  respective  points  of  contact  with  the  white  wall. 
Lincoln’s  altitude,  as  thus  indicated,  was  a quarter 
inch  above  that  of  the  Colonel.  “I  knew  it,”  said 
Lincoln.  “They  raise  tall  men  down  in  Mississippi,  but 
you  go  home  and  tell  your  folks  that  Old  Abe  tops  you  a 
little.”  The  Colonel  went  away  much  mollified  and 
impressed.  “My  God!”  said  he  to  Dr.  Bateman,  as  he 
went  out.  “There’s  going  to  be  war;  but  could  my 
people  know  what  I have  learned  within  the  last  hour, 
there  need  be  no  war.” 

During  the  Presidential  campaign,  the  vote  of  the  city 
of  Springfield  was  canvassed  house  by  house.  There 
were  at  that  time  twenty-three  clergymen  residing  in 
the  city  (not  all  pastors).  All  but  three  of  these  signi- 
fied their  intention  to  vote  against  Lincoln.  This  fact 
seemed  to  grieve  him  somewhat.  Soon  after,  in  con- 
versing upon  the  subject  with  Dr.  Bateman,  he  said,  as 
if  thinking  aloud:  “These  gentlemen  know  that  Judge 
Douglas  does  not  care  a cent  whether  slavery  in  the 
territories  is  voted  up  or  voted  down,  for  he  has  repeatedly 
told  them  so.  They  know  that  I do  care.”  Then,  draw- 
ing from  a breast  pocket  a well-thumbed  copy  of  the 
New  Testament,  he  added,  after  a pause,  tapping  upon 
the  book  with  his  bony  finger:  “I  do  not  so  understand 
this  book.” 

The  poet  Bryant  was  conspicuous  among  the  promi- 
nent Eastern  men  who  favored  Lincoln’s  nomination 
for  the  Presidency  in  1860.  He  had  introduced 
Lincoln  to  the  people  of  New  York  at  the  Cooper  Insti- 
tute meeting  of  the  previous  winter,  and  was  a firm 
believer  in  the  Western  politician.  After  the  convention 


248  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Mr.  Bryant  wrote  Lincoln  a most  friendly  and  timely 
letter,  full  of  good  feeling  and  of  wise  advice.  Especially 
did  he  warn  Lincoln  to  be  cautious  in  committing 
himself  to  any  specific  policy,  or  making  pledges  or  en- 
gagements of  any  kind.  Mr.  Bryant’s  letter  contained 
much  political  wisdom,  and  was  written  in  that  scholarly 
style  for  which  he  was  distinguished.  But  it  could  not 
surpass  the  simple  dignity  and  grace  of  Lincoln’s  reply: 

Springfield,  III.,  June  28,  1860. 

Please  accept  my  thanks  for  the  honor  done  me  by 
your  kind  letter  of  the  16th.  I appreciate  the  danger 
against  which  you  would  guard  me;  nor  am  I wanting 
in  the  purpose  to  avoid  it.  I thank  you  for  the  additional 
strength  your  words  give  me  to  maintain  that  purpose. 

Your  friend  and  servant,  A.  Lincoln. 

Mr.  A.  J.  Grover  relates  that  about  this  time  he  met 
Lincoln,  and  had  a memorable  conversation  with 
him  on  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  Lincoln  detested  this 
law,  but  argued  that  until  it  was  declared  unconsti- 
tutional it  must  be  obeyed.  This  was  a short  time  after 
the  rescue  of  a fugitive  slave  at  Ottawa,  Illinois,  by  John 
Hossack,  James  Stout,  Major  Campbell,  and  others, 
after  Judge  John  D.  Caton,  acting  as  United  States 
Commissioner,  had  given  his  decision  remanding  him  to 
the  custody  of  his  alleged  owner;  and  the  rescuers  were 
either  in  prison  or  out  on  bail,  awaiting  their  trials.  Says 
Mr.  Grover:  “When  Mr.  Lincoln  had  finished  his  argu- 
ment I said,  ‘Constitutional  or  not,  I will  never  obey  the 
Fugitive  Slave  Law.  I would  have  done  as  Hossack  and 
Stout  and  Campbell  did  at  Ottawa.  I will  never  catch 
and  return  slaves  in  obedience  to  any  law  or  constitution. 
I do  not  believe  a man’s  liberty  can  be  taken  from  him 
constitutionally  without  a trial  by  jury.  I believe  the 
law  to  be  not  only  unconstitutional,  but  most  inhuman.’ 
‘Oh,’  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  I shall  never  forget  his  earnest- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  249 


ness  as  he  emphasized  it  by  striking  his  hand  on  his  knee, 
‘it  is  ungodly!  it  is  ungodly!  no  doubt  it  is  ungodly! 
but  it  is  the  law  of  the  land,  and  we  must  obey  it  as  we 
find  it.’  I said:  ‘ Mr.  Lincoln,  how  often  have  you  sworn 
to  support  the  Constitution?  We  propose  to  elect  you 
President.  How  would  you  look  taking  an  oath  to  sup- 
port what  you  declare  is  an  ungodly  Constitution,  and 
asking  God  to  help  you?’  He  felt  the  force  of  the  ques- 
tion, and,  inclining  his  head  forward  and  running  his 
fingers  through  his  hair  several  times,  seemed  lost  in 
reflection;  then  he  placed  his  hand  upon  my  knee  and 
said,  very  earnestly:  ‘Grover,  it’s  no  use  to  be  always 
looking  up  these  hard  spots  S'1”  In  the  terrible  years  then 
almost  upon  him,  Lincoln  found  many  such  “hard 
spots”  without  taking  the  trouble  to  look  them  up. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


Lincoln  Chosen  President  — The  Election  of  1860  — The  Waiting-time 
at  Springfield  — A Deluge  of  Visitors  — Various  Impressions  of  the 
President-elect  — Some  Queer  Callers  — Looking  over  the  Situation 
with  Friends  — Talks  about  the  Cabinet  — Thurlow  Weed’s  Visit 
to  Springfield  — The  Serious  Aspect  of  National  Affairs  — The 
South  in  Rebellion  — Treason  at  the  National  Capital  — Lincoln’s 
Farewell  Visit  to  his  Mother — The  Old  Sign,  “Lincoln  & Herndon” 
— The  Last  Day  at  Springfield  — Farewell  Speech  to  Friends  and 
Neighbors  — Off  for  the  Capital  — The  Journey  to  Washington  — • 
Receptions  and  Speeches  along  the  Route  — At  Cincinnati:  A 
Hitherto  Unpublished  Speech  by  Lincoln  — At  Cleveland : Personal 
Descriptions  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.'  Lincoln  — At  New  York  City:  Im- 
pressions of  the  New  President  — Perils  of  the  Journey  — The  Bal- 
timore Plot  — Change  of  Route  — Arrival  at  the  Capital. 


HE  Presidential  campaign  of  1860,  with  its  ex- 


fl  citements  and  struggles,  its  “ Wide-awake  ” clubs 
and  boisterous  enthusiasm  throughout  the  North,  and  its 
bitter  and  threatening  character  throughout  the  South, 
was  at  last  ended;  and  on  the  6th  of  November 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  elected  President  of  the  United 
States.1  His  cause  had  been  aided  not  a little  by  an 
unexpected  division  in  the  Democratic  party.  Douglas 
had  been  nominated  for  the  Presidency  by  this  party 
in  its  convention  at  Baltimore  on  the  18th  of  June; 
but  he  was  bitterly  opposed  by  the  extreme  slavery 
element  of  the  Democracy,  and  this  faction  held  a con- 
vention of  its  own  at  Baltimore  ten  days  later  and 
nominated  for  President  John  C.  Breckenridge  of  Ken- 
tucky. There  was  still  another  party,  though  a very 

1 The  popular  vote  was  as  follows:  Lincoln,  1,857,610;  Douglas, 
1,291,574;  Breckenridge,  850,082;  Bell,  646,124.  Of  the  electoral  votes, 
Lincoln  had  180;  Breckenridge,  72;  Bell,  39;  and  Douglas,  12. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  251 


minor  one,  in  the  field  — the  “Constitutional  Union 
Party,”  based  chiefly  on  a desire  to  avoid  the  issue  of 
slavery  in  national  politics  — which  on  the  9th  of  May 
had  nominated  John  Bell  of  Tennessee  as  its  candidate 
for  the  Presidency,  with  Edward  Everett  of  Massa- 
chusetts for  the  Vice-Presidency.  There  were  thus  four 
tickets  in  the  field  — the  Republican,  including  if  not 
representing  the  anti-slavery  element  in  the  North; 
the  Democratic,  which  was  pro-slavery  in  its  tendencies 
but  had  so  far  failed  to  satisfy  the  Southern  wing  — 
now  grown  alarmed  and  restless  at  the  growth  and  ten- 
dencies of  the  Republican  party  — that  this  element 
nominated  as  a third  ticket  an  out-and-out  pro-slavery 
candidate;  and  (fourth)  a “Constitutional  Union” 
ticket,  representing  a well-meant  but  fatuous  desire  to 
keep  slavery  out  of  national  politics  altogether. 

This  eventful  contest  was  therefore  determined 
largely  on  sectional  lines,  with  slavery  as  the  great 
underlying  issue.  Lincoln’s  gratification  at  his  elec- 
tion was  not  untempered  with  disappointments.  While 
he  had  a substantial  majority  of  the  electoral  vote 
(180  to  123),  the  popular  vote  was  toward  a million 
(930,170),  more  against  him  than  for  him.  Fifteen 
States  gave  him  no  electoral  vote,  and  in  nine  States' 
he  received  not  a single  popular  vote.  The  slave 
States  — “ the  Solid  South  ” — were  squarely  against 
him.  Lincoln  saw  the  significance  of  this,  and  it  filled 
him  with  regret  and  apprehension.  But  he  faced  the 
future  without  dismay,  and  with  a calm  resolve  to  do 
his  duty.  With  all  his  hatred  of  slavery,  loyalty  to 
the  Constitution  had  always  been  paramount  in  his 
mind ; and  those  who  knew  him  best  never  doubted 
that  it  would  continue  so. 

Lincoln  took  no  active  part  in  the  campaign,  prefer- 
ring to  remain  quietly  at  his  home  in  Springfield. 
Scarcely  was  the  election  decided  than  he  was  beset  with 


252  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


visitors  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  who  came  to 
gratify  curiosity  or  solicit  personal  favors  of  the  incom- 
ing President.  The  throng  became  at  last  so  great,  and 
interfered  so  much  with  the  comfort  of  Lincoln’s  home, 
that  the  Executive  Chamber  in  the  State  House  was 
set  apart  as  his  reception  room.  Here  he  met  all  who 
chose  to  come  — “ the  millionaire  and  the  menial,  the 
]3riest  and  the  politician,  men,  women,  and  children, 
old  friends  and  new  friends,  those  who  called  for  love 
and  those  who  sought  for  office.  From  morning  until 
night  this  was  his  occupation ; and  he  performed  it 
with  conscientious  care  and  the  most  unwearying 
patience.”  The  situation  at  the  Lincoln  home  at  this 
time,  and  the  spirit  prevailing  there,  is  well  depicted 
by  one  of  these  callers,  Mr.  R.  C.  McCormick,  whose 
interesting  account  of  his  meeting  with  Lincoln  in  New 
York  City  has  already  been  quoted  in  these  pages. 
“In  January,  1861,”  says  Mr.  McCormick,  “at  the 
instance  of  various  friends  in  New  York  who  wished 
a position  in  the  Cabinet  for  a prominent  Kentuckian, 
I went  to  Springfield  armed  with  documents  for  his 
consideration.  I remained  there  a week  or  more,  and 
was  at  the  Lincoln  cottage  daily.  Of  the  numerous 
formal  and  informal  interviews  that  I witnessed,  I re- 
member all  with  the  sincerest  pleasure.  I never  found 
the  man  upon  whom  rested  the  great  responsibilities  of 
the  nation  impatient  or  ill-humored.  The  plainest  and 
most  tedious  visitors  were  made  welcome  and  happy  in 
his  presence;  the  poor  commanded  as  much  of  his 
time  as  the  rich.  His  recognition  of  old  friends  and 
companions  in  frontier  life,  whom  many  elevated  as 
he  had  been  would  have  found  it  convenient  to  forget, 
was  especially  hearty.  His  correspondence  was  already 
immense,  and  the  town  was  alive  with  cabinet-makers 
and  office-seekers ; but  he  met  all  with  a calm  temper.” 

Mr.  Don  Piatt  relates  that  he  had  met  Lincoln  dur- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  253 


ing  the  Presidential  campaign,  and  had  been  invited 
to  visit  Springfield.  He  did  so,  and  was  asked  to 
supper  at  the  Lincoln  house.  “It  was  a. plain,  com- 
fortable structure,”  says  Mr.  Piatt,  “ and  the  supper 
was  mainly  of  cake,  pies,  and  chickens,  the  last  evi- 
dently killed  in  the  morning,  to  be  eaten  that  evening. 
After  the  supper  we  sat  far  into  the  night,  talking  over 
the  situation.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  the  homeliest  man  I 
ever  saw.  His  body  seemed  to  me  a huge  skeleton  in 
clothes.  Tall  as  he  was,  his  hands  and  feet  looked  out 
of  proportion,  so  long  and  clumsy  were  they.  Every 
movement  was  awkward  in  the  extreme.  He  sat  with 
one  leg  thrown  over  the  other,  and  the  pendent  foot 
swung  almost  to  the  floor.  And  all  the  while  two  little 
boys,  his  sons,  clambered  over  those  legs,  patted  his 
cheeks,  pulled  his  nose,  and  poked  their  fingers  in  his 
eyes,  without  reprimand.  He  had  a face  that  defied 
artistic  skill  to  soften  or  idealize.  It  was  capable  of 
few  expressions,  but  those  were  extremely  striking. 
When  in  repose,  his  face  was  dull,  heavy,  and  repel- 
lent. It  brightened  like  a lit  lantern  when  animated. 
His  dull  eyes  would  fairly  sparkle  with  fun,  or  ex- 
press as  kindly  a look  as  I ever  saw,  when  moved  by 
some  matter  of  human  interest.” 

Hon.  George  W.  Julian,  of  Indiana,  was  another  vis- 
itor to  the  Lincoln  home  in  January.  He  says:  “I 
had  a curiosity  to  see  the  famous  ‘ rail-splitter,’  as 
he  was  then  familiarly  called,  and  as  a member-elect 
of  the  Thirty-seventh  Congress  I desired  to  form  some 
acquaintance  with  the  man  who  was  to  play  so  con- 
spicuous a part  in  the  impending  national  crisis.  On 
meeting  him  I found  him  far  better  looking  than  the 
campaign  pictures  had  represented  him.  His  face, 
when  lighted  up  in  conversation,  was  not  unhandsome, 
and  the  kindly  and  winning  tones  of  his  voice  pleaded 
for  him  like  the  smile  that  played  about  his  rugged 


254  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


features.  He  was  full  of  anecdote  and  humor,  and 
readily  found  his  way  to  the  hearts  of  those  who 
enjoyed  a welcome  to  his  fireside.  His  face,  however, 
was  sometimes  marked  by  that  touching  expression  of 
sadness  which  became  so  noticeable  in  the  years  follow- 
ing. On  the  subject  of  slavery  I was  gratified  to  find 
him  less  reserved  and  more  emphatic  than  I had  ex- 
pected. I was  much  pleased  with  our  first  Republican 
Executive,  and  I returned  home  more  fully  inspired 
than  ever  with  the  purpose  to  sustain  him  to  the  ut- 
most in  facing  the  duties  of  his  great  office.” 

The  wide  range  of  these  callers  and  their  diverse 
errands  are  illustrated  by  examples  furnished  by  Mr. 
Lamon.  Two  tall,  ungainly  fellows,  — “Suckers,”  as 
they  were  called,  — entered  Lincoln’s  room  one  day  while 
he  was  engaged  in  conversation  with  a friend.  They 
lingered  bashfully  near  the  door,  and  Lincoln,  notic- 
ing their  embarrassment,  rose  and  said  good-naturedly, 
“ How  do  you  do,  my  good  fellows  ? What  can  I do 
for  you?  Will  you  sit  down?  ” The  spokesman  of 
the  pair,  the  shorter  of  the  two,  declined  to  sit,  and 
explained  the  object  of  the  call.  He  had  had  a talk 
about  the  relative  height  of  Lincoln  and  his  com- 
panion, and  had  asserted  his  belief  that  they  were  of 
exactly  the  same  height.  He  had  come  in  to  verify  his 
judgment.  Lincoln  smiled,  then  got  his  cane,  and 
placing  the  end  of  it  upon  the  wall  said,  “ Here,  young 
man,  come  under  here ! ” The  young  man  came  under 
the  cane,  as  Lincoln  held  it,  and  when  it  was  perfectly 
adjusted  to  his  height  Lincoln  said,  “Now  come  out 
and  hold  up  the  cane.”  This  he  did,  while  Lincoln 
stepped  under.  Rubbing  his  head  back  and  forth  to 
see  that  it  worked  easily  under  the  measurement,  he 
stepped  out,  and  declared  that  the  young  man  had 
guessed  with  remarkable  accuracy  — that  he  and  the 
tall  fellow  were  exactly  of  the  same  height.  Then 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  255 


he  shook  hands  with  them  and  sent  them  on  their  way. 
The  next  caller  was  a very  different  person  — an  old 
and  modestly  dressed  woman  who  tried  to  explain  that 
she  knew  Lincoln.  As  he  did  not  at  first  recognize 
her,  she  tried  to  recall  to  his  memory  certain  incidents 
connected  with  his  rides  upon  the  circuit  — especially 
his  dining  at  her  house  upon  the  road  at  different  times. 
Then  he  remembered  her  and  her  home.  Having  fixed 
her  own  place  in  his  recollection,  she  tried  to  recall  to 
him  a certain  scanty  dinner  of  bread  and  milk  that  he 
once  ate  at  her  house.  He  could  not  remember  it  — 
on  the  contrary,  he  only  remembered  that  he  had 
always  fared  well  at  her  house.  “ Well,”  said  she, 
“ one  day  you  came  along  after  we  had  got  through 
dinner,  and  we  had  eaten  up  everything,  and  I could 
give  you  nothing  but  a bowl  of  bread  and  milk;  you 
ate  it,  and  when  you  got  up  you  said  it  was  good 
enough  for  the  President  of  the  United  States .”  The 
good  woman,  remembering  the  remark,  had  come  in 
from  the  country,  making  a journey  of  eight  or  ten 
miles,  to  relate  to  Lincoln  this  incident,  which  in  her 
mind  had  doubtless  taken  the  form  of  prophecy.  Lin- 
coln placed  her  at  her  ease,  chatted  with  her  of  old 
times,  and  dismissed  her  in  the  most  happy  and  com- 
placent frame  of  mind. 

Among  the  judicious  friends  of  Lincoln  who  gave 
him  timely  counsel  at  this  important  epoch  of  his  life 
was  Judge  John  D.  Caton,  who,  though  a Democrat, 
was  a far-sighted  man  who  saw  plainly  the  tendency  of 
political  affairs  and  was  anxious  for  the  preservation 
of  the  Union.  “ I met  Lincoln  in  Springfield,”  writes 
Judge  Caton,  “ and  we  had  a conference  in  the  law- 
library.  I told  him  it  was  plain  that  he  had  a war  on 
his  hands ; that  there  was  a determination  on  the  part 
of  the  South  to  secede  from  the  Union,  and  that  there 
would  be  throughout  the  North  an  equal  determination 


256  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


to  maintain  the  Union.  I advised  him  to  avoid  bring- 
ing on  the  war  by  precipitate  action,  but  let  the  South- 
erners begin  it ; to  forbear  as  long  as  forbearance  could 
be  tolerated,  in  order  to  unite  the  North  the  more  effec- 
tually to  support  his  hands  in  the  struggle  that  was 
certain  to  come ; that  by  such  a course  the  great  body 
of  the  people  of  the  North,  of  all  parties,  would  come 
to  his  support.  Mr.  Lincoln  listened  intently,  and  re- 
plied that  he  foresaw  that  the  struggle  was  inevitable, 
but  that  it  would  be  his  desire  and  effort  to  unite  the 
people  in  support  of  the  Government  and  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  Union ; that  he  was  aware  that  no  single 
party  could  sustain  him  successfully,  and  that  he  must 
rely  upon  the  great  masses  of  the  people  of  all  parties, 
and  he  would  try  to  pursue  such  a course  as  would 
secure  their  support.  The  interview  continued  perhaps 
an  hour.” 

Judge  David  Davis,  a most  intimate  and  confidential 
friend  of  Lincoln,  states  that  the  latter  was  firmly  de- 
termined to  appoint  “ Democrats  and  Republicans  alike 
to  office.”  Mr.  Lamon  corroborates  the  statement, 
pointedly  remarking : “ He  felt  that  his  strength  lay  in 
conciliation  at  the  outset ; that  was  his  ruling  con- 
viction during  all  those  months  of  preparation  for  the 
great  task  before  him.  It  showed  itself  not  only  in 
the  appointments  which  he  sought  to  make  but  in  those 
which  he  did  make.  Harboring  no  jealousies,  enter- 
taining no  fears  concerning  his  personal  interests  in 
the  future,  he  called  around  him  the  most  powerful  of 
his  late  rivals  — Seward,  Chase,  Bates  — and  unhesi- 
tatingly gave  into  their  hands  powers  which  most  Presi- 
dents would  have  shrunk  from  committing  to  their 
equals,  and  much  more  to  their  superiors,  in  the  con- 
duct of  public  affairs.”  In  a noted  instance  where 
the  most  powerful  influence  was  brought  to  bear  upon 
Lincoln  to  induce  him  to  make  what  he  regarded  as  an 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  257 


unworthy  appointment,  he  exclaimed : “ All  that  I am 
in  the  world  — the  Presidency  and  all  else  — I owe 
to  the  opinion  of  me  wThich  the  people  express  when 
they  call  me  ‘ Honest  Old  Abe.’  Now,  what  would 
they  think  of  their  honest  Abe  if  he  should  make  such 
an  appointment  as  the  one  proposed?  ” 

Hon.  Leonard  Swett,  who  knew  Lincoln  from  184*8 
to  the  time  of  his  death,  and  had  “ traveled  the  cir- 
cuit ” with  him  in  Illinois,  relates  that  soon  after  the 
election  he  and  Judge  Davis  advised  Lincoln  to  consult 
Thurlow  Weed  regarding  the  formation  of  the  Cabinet 
and  on  political  affairs  generally.  “ Mr.  Lincoln  asked 
me,”  says  Mr.  Swett,  “ to  write  Mr.  Weed  and  invite 
him  to  a conference  at  Lincoln’s  house  in  Springfield. 
I did  so,  and  the  result  was  that  Judge  Davis,  Thurlow 
Weed,  and  myself  spent  a whole  day  with  him  in  dis- 
cussing the  men  and  measures  of  his  administration. 
At  that  meeting,  which  took  place  in  less  than  a month 
after  Lincoln’s  election,  or  early  in  December,  1860, 
Lincoln  became  convinced  that  war  was  imminent  be- 
tween the  North  and  the  South.  Mr.  Weed  was  a very 
astute  man,  and  had  a wonderful  knowledge  of  what 
was  going  on.  He  told  Lincoln  of  preparations  being 
made  in  the  Southern  States  that  could  mean  nothing 
less  than  war.  It  was  a serious  time  with  all  of  us, 
of  course,  but  Lincoln  took  it  with  the  imperturbability 
that  always  distinguished  him.” 

The  account  given  by  Thurlow  Weed,  the  veteran 
New  York  editor  and  journalist,  of  his  visit  to  Lincoln 
on  this  occasion  is  of  peculiar  interest.  Mr.  Weed 
remained  in  Springfield  two  or  three  days  in  close  con- 
sultation with  the  President-elect,  the  formation  of  the 
new  Cabinet  being  the  subject  principally  discussed. 
After  expressing  gratification  at  his  election,  and  an 
apprehension  of  the  dangers  which  threatened  the  in- 
coming administration,  says  Mr.  Weed,  in  his  autobi- 


258  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


ography,  “ Mr.  Lincoln  remarked,  smiling,  that  he  sup- 
posed I had  had  some  experience  in  cabinet-making; 
that  he  had  a job  on  hand,  and  as  he  had  never  learned 
that  trade  he  was  disposed  to  avail  himself  of  the  sug- 
gestions of  friends.  The  question  thus  opened  became 
the  subject  of  conversation,  at  intervals,  during  that 
and  the  following  day.  I say  at  intervals,  because 
many  hours  were  consumed  in  talking  of  the  public 
men  connected  with  former  administrations,  inter- 
spersed, illustrated,  and  seasoned  pleasantly  with  Mr. 
Lincoln’s  stories,  anecdotes,  etc.  And  here  I feel  called 
upon  to  vindicate  Mr.  Lincoln,  as  far  as  my  oppor- 
tunities and  observation  go,  from  the  frequent  impu- 
tation of  telling  indelicate  and  ribald  stories.  I saw 
much  of  him  during  his  whole  Presidential  term,  with 
familiar  friends  and  alone,  when  he  talked  without 
restraint;  but  I never  heard  him  use  a profane  or 
indecent  word,  or  tell  a story  that  might  not  he  re- 
peated in  the  presence  of  ladies 

“ Mr.  Lincoln  observed,”  continues  Mr.  Weed,  “ that 
the  making  of  a Cabinet,  now  that  he  had  it  to  do,  was 
by  no  means  as  easy  as  he  had  supposed ; that  he  had, 
even  before  the  result  of  the  election  was  known,  as- 
suming the  probability  of  success,  fixed  upon  the  two 
leading  members  of  his  Cabinet,  but  that  in  looking 
about  for  suitable  men  to  fill  the  other  departments 
he  had  been  much  embarrassed,  partly  from  his  want 
of  acquaintance  with  the  prominent  men  of  the  day, 
and  partly  because  he  believed  that  while  the  popu- 
lation of  the  country  had  immensely  increased  really 
great  men  were  scarcer  than  they  used  to  be.  ...  As 
the  conversation  progressed,  Lincoln  remarked  that  he 
intended  to  invite  Governor  Seward  to  take  the  State 
Department  and  Governor  Chase  the  Treasury  De- 
partment, remarking  that  aside  from  their  long  expe- 
rience in  public  affairs  and  their  eminent  fitness  they 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  259 


were  prominently  before  the  people  and  the  convention 
as  competitors  for  the  Presidency,  each  having  higher 
claims  than  his  own  for  the  place  which  he  was  to 
occupy.  On  naming  Hon.  Gideon  Welles  as  the  man 
he  thought  of  as  the  representative  of  New  England 
in  the  Cabinet,  I remarked  that  I thought  he  could 
find  several  New  England  gentlemen  whose  selection 
for  a place  in  his  Cabinet  would  be  more  acceptable 
to  the  people  of  New  England.  ‘ But,’  said  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, ‘ we  must  remember  that  the  Republican  party 
is  constituted  of  two  elements,  and  that  we  must  have 
men  of  Democratic  as  well  as  of  Whig  antecedents  in 
the  Cabinet.’  ...  In  the  course  of  our  conversations 
Mr.  Lincoln  remarked  that  it  was  particularly  pleas- 
ant to  him  to  reflect  that  he  was  coming  into  office 
unembarrassed  by  promises.  He  owed,  he  supposed, 
his  exemption  from  importunities  to  the  circumstance 
that  his  name  as  a candidate  was  but  a short  time 
before  the  people,  and  that  only  a few  sanguine  friends 
anticipated  the  possibility  of  his  nomination.  ‘ I have 
not,’  said  he,  ‘ promised  an  office  to  any  man,  nor 
have  I,  but  in  a single  instance,  mentally  committed 
myself  to  an  appointment.’  ” 

“ In  this  way  two  days  passed  very  pleasantly,” 
says  Mr.  Weed,  “ the  conversation  being  alternately 
earnest  and  playful.  I wish  it  were  possible  to  give, 
in  Mr.  Lincoln’s  amusing  but  quaint  manner,  the  many 
stories,  anecdotes,  and  witticisms  with  which  he  inter- 
larded and  enlivened  what  with  almost  any  of  his 
predecessors  in  the  high  office  of  President  would  have 
been  a grave,  dry  consultation.  The  great  merit  of 
Mr.  Lincoln’s  stories,  like  Captain  Bunsby’s  opinion, 
‘ lays  in  the  application  on  it.’  They  always  and 
exactly  suited  the  occasion  and  the  object,  and  none 
to  which  I ever  listened  seemed  far-fetched  or  point- 
less. I will  attempt  to  repeat  one  of  them.  If  I 


260  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


have  an  especial  fondness  for  any  particular  luxury, 
it  manifests  itself  in  a remarkable  way  when  properly 
made  December  sausages  are  placed  before  me.  While 
at  breakfast,  Judge  Davis,  noticing  that,  after  having 
been  bountifully  served  with  sausage,  like  Oliver  Twist 
I wanted  some  more,  said,  ‘ You  seem  fond  of  our 
Illinois  sausages.’  To  which  I responded  affirmatively, 
adding  that  I thought  the  article  might  be  relied  on 
where  pork  was  cheaper  than  dogs.  ‘ That,’  said  Mr. 
Lincoln,  ‘ reminds  me  of  what  occurred  down  at  Joliet, 
where  a popular  grocer  supplied  all  the  villagers  with 
sausages.  One  Saturday  evening,  when  his  grocery 
was  filled  with  customers  for  whom  he  and  his  boys 
were  busily  engaged  in  weighing  sausages,  a neigh- 
bor with  whom  he  had  had  a violent  quarrel  that  day, 
came  into  the  grocery  and  made  his  way  up  to  the 
counter  holding  by  the  tail  two  enormous  dead  cats 
which  he  deliberately  threw  on  to  the  counter,  saying, 
‘ This  makes  seven  to-day.  I ’ll  call  around  Monday 
and  get  my  money  for  them.’  ” 

During  the  months  intervening  between  his  elec- 
tion and  his  departure  for  Washington,  Lincoln  main- 
tained a keen  though  quiet  watchfulness  of  the  threat- 
ening aspect  of  affairs  at  the  national  capital  and 
throughout  the  South.  He  was  careful  not  to  commit 
himself  by  needless  utterances  as  to  his  future  policy ; 
but  in  all  his  demeanor,  as  a friend  said,  he  displayed 
the  firmness  and  determination,  without  the  temper,  of 
Jackson.  In  December  following  his  election  he  wrote 
the  following  letters  to  his  intimate  friend,  Hon.  E.  B. 
Washburne,  then  a member  of  Congress  from  Illinois: 

Springfield,  III.,  Dec.  13,  1860. 

Hon.  E.  B.  Washburne  — My  Dear  Sir:  Your 
long  letter  received.  Prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  any 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  261 


of  our  friends  from  demoralizing  themselves  and  our 
cause  by  entertaining  propositions  for  compromise  of 
any  sort  on  the  slavery  extension.  There  is  no  possible 
compromise  upon  it  but  which  puts  us  under  again, 
and  leaves  us  all  our  work  to  do  over  again.  Whether 
it  be  a Missouri  line,  or  Eli  Thayer’s  Popular  Sover- 
eignty, it  is  all  the  same.  Let  either  be  done,  and  im- 
mediately filibustering  and  extending  slavery  recom- 
mences. On  that  point  hold  firm,  as  with  a chain  of 
steel.  Yours  as  ever,  A.  Lincoln. 

Springfield,  III.,  Dec.  21,  1860. 

Hon.  E.  B.  Washbtirne  — My  Dear  Sir:  Last 
night  I received  your  letter  giving  an  account  of  your 
interview  with  General  Scott,  and  for  which  I thank 
you.  Please  present  my  respects  to  the  General,  and 
tell  him  confidentially  that  I shall  be  obliged  to  him 
to  be  as  well  prepared  as  he  can  to  either  hold  or  re- 
take the  forts,  as  the  case  may  require,  at  and  after 
the  inauguration.  Yours  as  ever,  A.  Lincoln. 

The  Southern  States,  led  on  by  South  Carolina, 
which  formally  severed  its  connection  with  the  Union 
November  IT,  1860  (only  eleven  days  after  Lincoln’s 
election),  were  preparing  to  dissolve  their  alliance  with 
the  Free  States.  Mississippi  passed  the  ordinance  of 
secession  January  9,  1861;  Florida  followed  on  the 
10th;  Alabama  on  the  11th;  Georgia  on  the  19th; 
Louisiana  on  the  25th;  and  Texas  on  the  1st  day  of 
February.  The  plans  of  the  seceders  went  on,  un- 
molested by  the  Buchanan  administration.  South- 
erners in  the  Cabinet  and  in  Congress  conspired  to  de- 
plete the  resources  of  the  Government,  leaving  it  help- 
less to  contest  the  assumptions  of  the  revolted  States. 
The  treasury  was  deliberately  bankrupted;  the  ships 
of  the  navy  were  banished  to  distant  ports;  the  North- 
ern arsenals  were  rifled  to  furnish  arms  for  the  seceded 


262  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


States ; the  United  States  forts  and  armaments  on  the 
Southern  coast  were  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy,  with  the  exception  of  Fort  Sumter,  which  was 
gallantly  held  by  Major  Robert  Anderson.  While 
this  system  of  bold  and  unscrupulous  treachery  was 
carried  on  by  men  in  the  highest  places  of  trust,  the 
chief  executive  of  the  nation  remained  a passive  spec- 
tator. The  South  was  in  open  rebellion,  and  the  North 
was  powerless  to  interfere.  The  weeks  prior  to  the 
inauguration  of  the  new  administration  dragged  slowly 
along,  each  day  adding  fresh  cause  for  anxiety  and 
alarm. 

Amidst  these  portentous  scenes  Lincoln,  watching 
them  from  a distance,  maintained  his  calm  and  vigilant 
attitude.  No  one  knew  better  than  he  the  significance 
of  these  ominous  events  that  were  taking  place  at  the 
nation’s  capital  and  in  the  disaffected  States ; but 
there  was  nothing  he  could  do  about  them.  His  time 
for  action  had  not  yet  come.  He  said  little,  but 
enough  to  show  unmistakably  what  he  thought  of  the 
situation  and  what  course  he  had  resolved  upon  to 
meet  it.  As  early  as  December  17,  1860  — a little 
more  than  a month  after  his  election  — in  writing  to 
Thurlow  Weed,  he  said:  “ My  opinion  is  that  no  State 
can  in  any  way  get  out  of  the  Union  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  other  States;  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
President  to  run  the  machine  as  it  is.”  He  had  been 
made  the  pilot  of  the  ship  of  State,  and  his  duty  and 
purpose  were  to  save  the  vessel.1  Upon  this  mighty 
task  were  concentrated  all  the  powers  of  his  intellect 
and  will;  and  through  all  the  desperate  voyage  that 
followed  he  never  wavered  or  faltered  in  his  course, 

1 On  the  very  day  of  Lincoln’s  arrival  in  Washington,  he  said  to 
some  prominent  men  who  had  called  upon  him  at  his  hotel,  “ As  the 
country  has  placed  me  at  the  helm  of  the  ship,  I ’ll  try  to  steer  her 
through.” 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  263 


from  the  time  of  his  supreme  resolve,  made  in  the  quiet 
of  his  country  home,  to  the  hour  when 

44  From  fearful  trip  the  victor  ship  came  in  with  object 
won  ” — 

but  with  her  more  than  heroic  but  now  victorious  Cap- 
tain “ fallen  cold  and  dead  ” upon  her  deck. 

As  the  winter  wore  away,  and  the  time  for  Lincoln’s 
inauguration  as  President  drew  near,  he  began  making 
preparation  for  leaving  the  familiar  scenes  where  his 
life  had  thus  far  been  spent.  Early  in  February  he 
made  a parting  visit  to  his  relatives  in  Coles  County,  to 
whom  in  this  hour  of  grave  trial  and  anxiety  his  heart 
turned  with  fresh  yearning.  He  spent  a night  at 
Charleston,  where  his  cousin  Dennis  Hanks,  and  Mrs. 
Colonel  Chapman,  a daughter  of  Dennis,  resided. 
We  are  told  that  44  the  people  crowded  by  hundreds 
to  see  him ; and  he  was  serenaded  by  ‘ both  the  string 
and  brass  bands  of  the  town,  but  declined  making  a 
speech.”  The  following  morning  he  passed  on  to 
Farmington,  to  the  home  of  his  beloved  step-mother, 
who  was  living  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Moore.  Mr. 
Lamon  relates  that  44  the  meeting  between  him  and  the 
old  lady  was  of  a most  affectionate  and  tender  char- 
acter. She  fondled  him  as  her  own  4 Abe,’  and  he  her 
as  his  own  mother.  Then  Lincoln  arid  Colonel  Chap- 
man drove  to  the  house  of  John  Hall,  who  lived  on  the 
old  4 Lincoln  farm  ’ where  Abe  split  the  celebrated 
rails  and  fenced  in  the  little  clearing  in  1830.  Thence 
they  went  to  the  spot  where  Lincoln’s  father  was 
buried.  The  grave  was  unmarked  and  utterly  neg- 
lected. Lincoln  said  he  wanted  to  4 have  it  enclosed, 
and  a suitable  tombstone  erected,’  ” and  gave  the  neces- 
sary instructions  for  this  purpose.  44  We  then  re- 
turned,” says  Colonel  Chapman,  44  to  Farmington, 
where  we  found  a large  crowd  of  citizens  — nearly 


264  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


all  old  acquaintances  — waiting  to  see  him.  His  re- 
ception was  very  enthusiastic,  and  seemed  to  gratify 
him  very  much.  After  taking  dinner  at  his  step- 
sister’s (Mrs.  Moore’s),  he  returned  to  Charleston. 
Our  conversation  during  the  trip  was  mostly  concern- 
ing family  affairs.  On  the  way  down  to  Farming- 
ton  Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  to  me  of  his  step-mother  in  the 
most  affectionate  manner;  said  she  had  been  his  best 
friend,  and  that  no  son  could  love  a mother  more  than 
he  loved  her.  He  also  told  me  of  the  condition  of 
his  father’s  family  at  the  time  he  married  his  step- 
mother, and  of  the  change  she  made  in  the  family,  and 
of  the  encouragement  he  had  received  from  her.  . . . 
He  spoke  of  his  father,  and  related  some  amusing  in- 
cidents of  the  bull-dog’s  biting  the  old  man  on  his 
return  from  New  Orleans;  of  the  old  man’s  escape, 
when  a boy,  from  an  Indian  who  was  shot  by  his  uncle 
Mordecai,  etc.  He  spoke  of  his  uncle  Mordecai  as 
being  a man  of  very  great  natural  gifts.  At  Charles- 
ton we  found  the  house  crowded  by  people  wishing 
to  see  him.  The  crowd  finally  became  so  great  that 
it  was  decided  to  hold  a public  reception  at  the  Town 
Hall  that  evening  at  seven  o’clock;  until  then  Lin- 
coln wished  to  be  left  with  relatives  and  friends.  At 
the  Town  Hall  large  numbers  of  people  from  the  town 
and  surrounding  country,  irrespective  of  party,  called 
to  see  him.  His  reception  by  his  old  acquaintances 
\ was  very  gratifying  to  him.” 

A characteristic  anecdote  showing  Lincoln’s  friend- 
ship and  love  of  old  associations  is  told  among  those 
relating  to  his  last  days  at  Springfield.  When  he 
was  about  to  leave  for  Washington  he  went  to  the 
dingy  little  law  office,  sat  down  on  the  couch,  and  said 
to  his  law-partner,  Herndon,  “ Billy,  you  and  I have 
been  together  nearly  twenty  years,  and  have  never 
‘ passed  a word.’  Will  you  let  my  name  stay  on  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  265 


old  sign  till  I come  back  from  Washington?  ” The 
tears  started  to  Mr.  Herndon’s  eyes.  He  put  out 
his  hand.  “ Mr.  Lincoln,”  said  he,  “ I will  never  have 
any  other  partner  while  you  live  ” ; and  to  the  day 
of  the  assassination  all  the  doings  of  the  firm  were 
in  the  name  of  “ Lincoln  & Herndon.” 

Governor  Bross,  of  Illinois,  relates  that  he  was  with 
Lincoln  at  Springfield  on  the  day  before  he  left  for 
Washington.  “ We  were  walking  slowly  to  his  home 
from  some  place  where  we  had  met,  and  the  condition 
and  prospects  of  the  country,  and  his  vast  respon- 
sibility in  assuming  the  position  of  President,  were  the 
subjects  of  his  thoughts.  These  were  discussed  with 
a breadth  and  anxiety  full  of  that  pathos  peculiar 
to  Mr.  Lincoln  in  his  thoughtful  moods.  He  seemed 
to  have  a thorough  prescience  of  the  dangers  through 
which  his  administration  was  to  pass.  No  President, 
he  said,  had  ever  had  before  him  such  vast  and  far- 
reaching  responsibilities.  He  regarded  war  — — long, 
bitter,  and  dreadful  — as  almost  sure  to  come.  He 
distinctly  and  reverently  placed  his  hopes  for  the 
result  in  the  strength  and  guidance  of  Him  on  whom 
Washington  relied  in  the  darkest  hours  of  the  Revo- 
lution. He  would  take  the  place  to  which  Providence 
and  his  countrymen  had  called  him,  and  do  the  best 
he  could  for  the  integrity  and  the  welfare  of  the 
Republic.  For  himself,  he  scarcely  expected  ever  to 
see  Illinois  again.” 

On  the  morning  of  the  11th  of  February,  1861, 
Lincoln  left  his  home  in  Springfield  for  the  scene  where 
he  was  to  spend  the  most  anxious,  toilsome,  and  painful 
years  of  his  life.  An  elaborate  programme  had  been 
prepared  for  his  journey  to  Washington,  which  was  to 
conduct  him  through  the  principal  cities  of  Indiana, 
Ohio,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Mary- 
land, and  consume  much  of  the  time  intervening  before 


266  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


the  4th  of  March.  Special  trains,  preceded  by  pilot- 
engines,  were  prepared  for  his  accommodation.  He 
was  accompanied  at  his  departure  by  his  wife  and  three 
sons,  and  a party  of  friends,  including  Governor  Yates, 
ex-Governor  Moore,  Dr.  W.  M.  Wallace  (his  brother- 
in-law),  N.  B.  Judd,  O.  H.  Browning,  Ward  H.  Lamon, 
David  Davis,  Col.  E.  E.  Ellsworth,  and  John  M.  Hajf 
and  J.  G.  Nicolay,  the  two  latter  to  be  his  private 
secretaries.  Mr.  Lamon  thus  graphically  describes  the 
incidents  of  his  leave-taking:  “It  was  a gloomy  day; 
heavy  clouds  floated  overhead,  and  a cold  rain  was 
falling.  Long  before  eight  o’clock  a great  mass  of 
people  had  collected  at  the  railway  station.  At  pre- 
cisely five  minutes  before  eight,  Mr.  Lincoln,  pre- 
ceded by  Mr.  Wood,  emerged  from  a private  room  in 
the  depot  building,  and  passed  slowly  to  the  car,  the 
people  falling  back  respectfully  on  either  side,  and  as 
many  as  possible  shaking  his  hands.  Having  reached 
the  train,  he  ascended  the  rear  platform,  and,  facing 
about  to  the  throng  which  had  closed  around  him,  drew 
himself  up  to  his  full  height,  removed  his  hat,  and 
stood  for  several  seconds  in  profound  silence.  His  eye 
roved  sadly  over  that  sea  of  upturned  faces,  as  if 
seeking  to  read  in  them  the  sympathy  and  friendship 
which  he  never  needed  more  than  then.  There  was 
an  unusual  quiver  in  his  lip,  and  a still  more  unusual 
tear  on  his  shriveled  cheek.  His  solemn  manner,  his 
long  silence,  were  as  full  of  melancholy  eloquence  as 
any  words  he  could  have  uttered.  What  did  he  think 
of?  Of  the  mighty  changes  which  had  lifted  him  from 
the  lowest  to  the  highest  estate  on  earth?  Of  the 
weary  road  which  had  brought  him  to  this  lofty 
summit?  Of  his  poor  mother  lying  beneath  the  tan- 
gled underbrush  in  a distant  forest?  Of  that  other 
grave  in  the  quiet  Concord  cemetery?  Whatever  the 
character  of  his  thoughts,  it  is  evident  that  they  wei’e 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  267 


retrospective  and  sad.  To  those  who  were  anxiously 
waiting  to  catch  his  words  it  seemed  long  until  he 
had  mastered  his  feelings  sufficiently  to  speak.  At 
length  he  began,  in  a husky  voice,  and  slowly  and  im- 
pressively delivered  his  farewell  to  his  neighbors. 
Imitating  his  example,  many  in  the  crowd  stood  with 
heads  uncovered  in  the  fast-falling  rain.”  Abraham 
Lincoln  spoke  none  but  true  and  sincere  words,  and 
none  more  true  and  heartfelt  ever  fell  from  his  lips 
than  these,  so  laden  with  pathos,  with  humility,  with 
a craving  for  the  sympathy  of  his  friends  and  the 
people,  and  for  help  above  and  beyond  all  earthly  power 
and  love. 

My  Friends:  — No  one  not  in  my  position  can  real- 
ize the  sadness  I feel  at  this  parting.  To  this  people 
I owe  all  that  I am.  Here  I have  lived  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a century.  Here  my  children  were  born, 
and  here  one  of  them  lies  buried.  I know  not  how  soon 
I shall  see  you  again.  I go  to  assume  a task  more 
difficult  than  that  which  has  devolved  upon  any  other 
man  since  the  days  of  Washington.  He  never  would 
have  succeeded  except  for  the  aid  of  Divine  Providence, 
upon  which  he  at  all  times  relied.  I feel  that  I cannot 
succeed  without  the  same  Divine  blessing  which  sus- 
tained him ; and  on  the  same  Almighty  Being  I place 
mv  reliance  for  support.  And  I hope  you,  my  friends, 
will  all  pray  that  I may  receive  that  Divine  assistance, 
without  which  I cannot  succeed,  but  with  which  suc- 
cess is  certain.  Again  I bid  you  an  affectionate 
farewell. 

The  route  chosen  for  the  journey  to  Washington, 
as  has  been  stated,  was  a circuitous  one.  It  seems  to 
have  been  Lincoln’s  desire  to  meet  personally  the 
people  of  the  great  Northern  States  upon  whose  devo- 
tion and  loyalty  he  .prophetically  felt  he  must  depend 
for  the  salvation  of  the  Republic.  Everywhere  he 


208  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


met  the  warmest  and  most  generous  greetings  from 
the  throngs  assembled  at  the  railway  stations  in  the 
various  cities  through  which  he  passed.  At  Indianapo- 
lis, where  the  first  important  halt  was  made,  cannon 
announced  the  arrival  of  the  party,  and  a royal  wel- 
come was  accorded  the  distinguished  traveler.  In 
this,  as  in  the  other  cities  at  which  he  stopped,  Lin- 
coln made  a brief  address  to  the  people.  His  remarks 
were  well  considered  and  temperate ; his  manner  was 
serious,  his  expressions  thoughtful  and  full  of  feeling. 
He  entreated  the  people  to  be  calm  and  patient ; to 
stand  by  the  principles  of  liberty  inwrought  into  the 
fabric  of  the  Constitution ; to  have  faith  in  the 
strength  and  reality  of  the  Government,  and  faith  in 
his  purpose  to  discharge  his  duties  honestly  and  im- 
partially. He  referred  continually  to  his  trust  in  the 
Almighty  Ruler  of  the  Universe  to  guide  the  nation 
safely  out  of  its  present  peril  and  perplexity.  “ I 
judge,”  he  said  at  Columbus,  “ that  all  we  want  is  time 
and  patience,  and  a reliance  in  that  God  who  has  never 
forsaken  His  people.”  Again,  he  said : “ Let  the 

people  on  both  sides  keep  their  self-possession,  and 
just  as  other  clouds  have  cleared  away  in  due  time,  so 
will  this ; and  this  great  nation  shall  continue  to 
prosper  as  heretofore.”  Alluding  more  definitely  to 
his  purposes  for  the  future,  he  declared : “ I shall  do 
all  that  may  be  in  my  power  to  promote  a peaceful 
settlement  of  all  our  difficulties.  The  man  does  not  live 
who  is  more  devoted  to  peace  than  I am  — none  who 
would  do  more  to  preserve  it.  But  it  may  be  necessary 
to  put  the  foot  down  firmly .” 

At  the  conclusion  of  Lincoln’s  speech  at  Columbus, 
a tremendous  crowd  surged  forward  to  shake  his  hand. 
Says  Dr.  Holland : “ Every  man  in  the  crowd  was 
anxious  to  wrench  the  hand  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  He 
finally  gave  both  hands  to  the  work,  with  great  good 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  269 

nature.  To  quote  one  of  the  reports  of  the  occasion: 
‘ People  plunged  at  his  arms  with  frantic  enthusiasm, 
and  all  the  infinite  variety  of  shakes,  from  the  wild  and 
irrepressible  pump-handle  movement  to  the  dead  grip, 
was  executed  upon  the  devoted  dexter  and  sinister  of 
the  President.  Some  glanced  at  his  face  as  they 
grasped  his  hand;  others  invoked  the  blessings  of 
heaven  upon  him;  others  affectionately  gave  him  their 
last  gasping  assurance  of  devotion;  others,  bewildered 
and  furious,  with  hats  crushed  over  their  eyes,  seized 
his  hands  in  a convulsive  grasp,  and  passed  on  as  if 
they  had  not  the  remotest  idea  who,  what,  or  where 
they  were.’  The  President  at  last  escaped,  and  took 
refuge  in  the  Governor’s  residence,  although  he  held  a 
levee  at  the  State  House  in  the  evening,  where  in  a 
more  quiet  way  he  met  many  prominent  citizens.” 

At  Cincinnati,  where  Lincoln  had  had  so  distasteful 
an  experience  a few  years  before,  a magnificent  ovation 
greeted  him.  The  scene  is  described  by  one  who  wit- 
nessed it  — Hon.  William  Henry  Smith,  at  that  time 
a resident  of  Cincinnati.  “ It  was  on  the  13th  of 
February  that  Mr.  Lincoln  reached  the  Queen  City. 
The  day  was  mild  for  mid-winter,  but  the  sky  was 
overcast  with  clouds,  emblematic  of  the  gloom  that 
filled  the  hearts  of  the  unnumbered  thousands  who 
thronged  the  streets  and  covered  the  house-tops.  Lin- 
coln rode  in  an  open  carriage,  standing  erect  with 
uncovered  head,  and  steadying  himself  by  holding  on 
to  a board  fastened  to  the  front  part  of  the  vehicle. 
A more  uncomfortable  ride  than  this,  over  the  boul- 
dered  streets  of  Cincinnati,  cannot  well  be  imagined. 
Perhaps  a journey  over  the  broken  roads  of  Eastern 
Russia,  in  a tarantass,  would  secure  to  the  traveler  as 
great  a degree  of  discomfort.  Mr.  Lincoln  bore  it 
with  characteristic  patience.  His  face  was  very  sad, 
but  he  seemed  to  take  a deep  interest  in  everything. 


270  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


It  was  not  without  due  consideration  that  the  Presi- 
dent-elect touched  on  the  border  of  a slave  State  on 
his  way  to  the  capital.  In  his  speech  in  reply  to  the 
Mayor  of  Cincinnati,  recognizing  the  fact  that  among 
his  auditors  were  thousands  of  Kentuckians,  he  ad- 
dressed them  directly,  calling  them  ‘ Friends,’  ‘ Breth- 
ren.’ He  reminded  them  that  when  speaking  in  Fifth 
Street  Market  square  in  1859  he  had  promised  that 
when  the  Republicans  came  into  power  they  would 
treat  the  Southern  or  slave-holding  people  as  Wash- 
ington, Jefferson,  and  Madison  treated  them;  that 
they  would  interfere  with  their  institutions  in  no  way, 
but  abide  by  all  and  every  compromise  of  the  Con- 
stitution, and  ‘ recognize  and  bear  in  mind  always  that 
you  have  as  good  hearts  in  your  bosoms  as  other 
people,  or  as  we  claim  to  have,  and  treat  you  accord- 
ingly.’ Then,  to  emphasize  this,  he  said  — in  a pas- 
sage omitted  by  Mr.  Raymond  and  all  other  biog- 
raphers of  Lincoln  — 

And  now,  fellow-citizens  of  Ohio,  have  you  who  agree 
in  political  sentiment  with  him  who  now  addresses  you 
ever  entertained  other  sentiments  towards  our  breth- 
ren of  Kentucky  than  those  I have  expressed  to  you? 
[ Loud  and  repeated  cries  of  ‘ No!  ’ ‘ No!  ’]  If  not, 
then  why  shall  we  not,  as  heretofore,  be  recognized  and 
acknowledged  as  brethren  again,  living  in  peace  and 
harmony,  one  with  another?  [ Cries  of  ‘ We  will!  ’] 
I take  your  response  as  the  most  reliable  evidence  that 
it  may  be  so,  along  with  other  evidence,  trusting  to  the 
good  sense  of  the  American  people,  on  all  sides  of  all 
rivers  in  America,  under  the  Providence  of  God,  who 
has  never  deserted  us,  that  we  shall  again  be  brethren, 
forgetting  all  parties  — ignoring  all  parties. 

“ This  statesmanlike  expression  of  conservative 
opinion,”  continues  Mr.  Smith,  “ alarmed  some  of  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  271 


Republicans,  who  feared  that  the  new  President  might 
sell  out  his  party;  and  steps  were  taken,  later  in  the 
day,  to  remind  him  of  certain  principles  deemed  funda- 
mental by  those  who  had  been  attracted  to  the  party 
of  Freedom.  The  sequel  will  show  how  this  was  done, 
and  how  successfully  Mr.  Lincoln  met  the  unexpected 
attack.  In  the  evening  I called,  with  other  citizens,  at 
Mr.  Lincoln’s  rooms  at  the  Burnet  House  to  pay  my 
respects.  Mr.  Lincoln  had  put  off  the  melancholy 
mood  that  appeared  to  control  him  during  the  day,  and 
was  entertaining  those  present  with  genial,  even  lively, 
conversation.  The  pleasant  entertainment  was  inter- 
rupted by  the  announcement  that  a delegation  of 
German  workingmen  were  about  to  serenade  Mr.  Lin- 
coln. Proceeding  to  the  balcony,  there  were  seen  the 
faces  of  nearly  two  thousand  of  the  substantial  Ger- 
man citizens  who  had  voted  for  Mr.-  Lincoln  because 
they  believed  him  to  be  a stout  champion  of  free  labor 
and  free  homesteads.  The  remarks  of  their  spokesman, 
Frederick  Oberkleine,  set  forth  in  clear  terms  what 
they  expected.  He  said: 

We,  the  German  free  workingmen  of  Cincinnati,  avail 
ourselves  of  this  opportunity  to  assure  you,  our  chosen 
Chief  Magistrate,  of  our  sincere  and  heartfelt  regard. 
You  earned  our  votes  as  the  champion  of  Free  Labor 
and  Free  Homesteads.  Our  vanquished  opponents 
have,  in  recent  times,  made  frequent  use  of  the  terms 
“ Workingmen  ” and  “ Workingmen’s  Meetings,”  in 
order  to  create  an  impression  that  the  mass  of  work- 
ingmen were  in  favor  of  compromises  between  the  in- 
terests of  free  labor  and  slave  labor,  bp  which  the  vic- 
tory just  won  would  be  turned  into  a defeat.  This 
is  a despicable  device  of  dishonest  men.  We  spurn  such 
compromises.  We  firmly  adhere  to  the  principles  which 
directed  our  votes  in  your  favor.  We  trust  that  you, 
the  self-reliant  because  self-made  man,  will  uphold  the 


272  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Constitution  and  the  laws  against  secret  treachery  and 
avowed  treason.  If  to  this  end  you  should  be  in  need 
of  men,  the  German  free  workingmen,  with  others,  will 
rise  as  one  man  at  your  call,  ready  to  risk  their  lives  in 
the  effort  to  maintain  the  victory  already  won  by  free- 
dom over  slavery. 

“ This  was  bringing  the  rugged  issue  boldly  to  the 
front,  and  challenging  the  President-elect  to  meet  the 
issue  or  risk  the  loss  of  the  support  of  an  important 
section  of  his  own  party.  Oberkleine  spoke  with  great 
effect,  but  the  remarks  were  hardly  his  own.  Some 
abler  man  had  put  into  his  mouth  these  significant 
words.  Mr.  Lincoln  replied,  very  deliberately,  but 
without  hesitation,  as  follows: 

Me.  Chairman  : — I thank  you,  and  those  you  repre- 
sent, for  the  compliment  paid  me  by  the  tender  of 
this  address.  In  so  far  as  there  is  an  allusion  to  our 
present  national  difficulty,  and  the  suggestion  of  the 
views  of  the  gentlemen  who  present  this  address,  I 
beg  you  will  excuse  me  from  entering  particularly  upon 
it.  I deem  it  due  to  myself  and  the  wdiole  country,  in 
the  present  extraordinary  condition  of  the  country 
and  of  public  opinion,  that  I should  wait  and  see  the 
last  development  of  public  opinion  before  I give  my 
views  or  express  myself  at  the  time  of  the  inaugura- 
tion. I hope  at  that  time  to  be  false  to  nothing  you 
have  been  taught  to'  expect  of  me.  [ Cheers .] 

I agree  with  you,  Mr.  Chairman,  and  with  the  ad- 
dress of  your  constituents,  in  the  declaration  that 
workingmen  are  the  basis  of  all  governments.  That 
remark  is  due  to  them  more  than  to  any  other  class, 
for  the  reason  that  there  are  more  of  them  than  of 
any  other  class.  And  as  your  address  is  presented  to 
me  not  only  on  behalf  of  workingmen,  but  especially 
of  Germans,  I may  say  a word  as  to  classes.  I hold 
that  the  value  of  life  is  to  improve  one’s  condition. 
Whatever  is  calculated  to  advance  the  condition  of 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  273 


the  honest,  struggling  laboring  man,  so  far  as  my 
judgment  will  enable  me  to  judge  of  a correct  thing, 
I am  for  that  thing. 

An  allusion  has  been  made  to  the  Homestead  Law. 
I think  it  worthy  of  consideration,  and  that  the  wild 
lands  of  the  country  should  be  distributed  so  that 
every  man  should  have  the  means  and  opportunity  of 
benefiting  his  condition.  [ Cheers .]  I have  said  that 
I do  not  desire  to  enter  into  details,  nor  will  I. 

In  regard  to  Germans  and  foreigners,  I esteem  for- 
eigners no  better  than  other  people  - — - nor  any  worse. 
[Laughter  and  cheers .]  They  are  all  of  the  great 
family  of  men,  and  if  there  is  one  shackle  upon  any 
of  them  it  would  be  far  better  to  lift  the  load  from 
them  than  to  pile  additional  loads  upon  them. 
[ Cheers .]  And  inasmuch  as  the  continent  of  America 
is  comparatively  a new  country,  and  the  other  coun- 
tries of  the  world  are  old  countries,  there  is  more  room 
here,  comparatively  speaking,  than  there  is  elsewhere ; 
and  if  they  can  better  their  condition  by  leaving  their 
old  homes,  there  is  nothing  in  my  heart  to  forbid  them 
coming,  and  I bid  them  all  God  speed.  [ Cheers .] 
Again,  gentlemen,  thanking  you  for  your  address,  I 
bid  you  good  night. 

“ If  anyone,”  says  Mr.  Smith,  “ had  expected  to 
trap  Mr.  Lincoln  into  imprudent  utterances,  or  the 
indulgence  of  the  rhetoric  of  a demagogue,  this  ad- 
mirable reply  showed  how  completely  they  were  disap- 
pointed. The  preservation  of  this  speech  is  due  to 
my  accidental  presence.  The  visitation  of  the  Ger- 
mans was  not  on  the  programme,  and  none  of  the 
representatives  of  the  press  charged  with  the  duty  of 
reporting  the  events  of  the  day  were  present.  Ob- 
serving this,  I took  short-hand  notes  on  the  envelope 
of  an  old  letter  loaned  me  for  the  occasion,  and  after- 
wards wrote  them  out.  The  words  of  Mr.  Lincoln, 
exactly  as  spoken,  are  given  above.” 


274  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


At  Cleveland  the  party  remained  over  for  a day, 
and  Lincoln  was  greeted  with  the  usual  friendly  enthu- 
siasm. An  immense  crowd  met  him  at  the  depot,  and 
he  was  escorted  to  the  Weddell  House,  where  a recep- 
tion was  given  him  in  the  evening.  Hon.  A.  G.  Riddle, 
then  a resident  of  Cleveland,  and  a newly  elected 
member  of  the  Congress  which  was  to  share  with  Lin- 
coln the  burdens  and  responsibilities  of  the  Civil  War, 
was  present  on  that  occasion,  and  furnishes  the  follow- 
ing interesting  personal  recollections  of  it : “I  saw 
Abraham  Lincoln  for  the  first  time,  at  the  Weddell 
House  that  evening.  He  stood  on  the  landing-place 
at  the  top  of  a broad  stairway,  and  the  crowd  ap- 
proached him  from  below.  This  gave  him  an  exag- 
gerated advantage  of  his  six  feet  four  inches  of  length. 
The  shapelessness  of  the  lathy  form,  the  shock  of 
coarse  black  hair  surmounting  the  large  head,  the  re- 
treating forehead  - — these  were  not  apparent  where  we 
stood.  My  heart  sprang  up  to  him  — the  coming  man. 
Of  the  thousand  times  I afterward  saw  him,  the  first 
view  remains  the  most  distinct  impression ; and  never 
again  to  me  was  he  more  imposing.  As  we  approached, 
someone  whispered  of  me  to  him;  he  took  my  hand  in 
both  his  for  an  instant,  and  we  wheeled  into  the  al- 
ready crowded  rooms.  His  manner  was  strongly  West- 
ern ; his  speech  and  pronunciation  Southwestern. 
Wholly  without  self-consciousness  with  men,  he  was 
constrained  and  ill  at  ease  when  surrounded,  as  he 
several  times  was,  by  fashionably  dressed  ladies.  One 
incident  of  the  evening  I particularly  recall.  Ab 
McElrath  was  in  the  crowd  — a handsome  giant,  an 
Apollo  in  youth,  of  about  Mr.  Lincoln’s  height.  What 
brought  it  about,  I do  not  know ; but  I saw  them  stand- 
ing back  to  back,  in  a contest  of  altitude  — Mr.  Lin- 
coln and  Ab  McElrath  — the  President-elect,  the 
chosen,  the  nation’s  leader  in  the  thick-coming  dark- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  275 


ness,  and  the  tavern-keeper  and  fox-hunter.  The  crowd 
applauded. 

“ Mr.  Lincoln  presented  me  to  the  gentlemen  of 
his  party  — Mr.  Browning,  Mr.  Judd,  and  Mr.  Lamon, 
I remember,  as  I later  became  very  well  acquainted 
with  them ; also  the  rough-looking  Colonel  Sumner  of 
the  army.  Mr.  Lincoln  invited  me  to  accompany  him 
for  at  least  a day  on  his  eastward  journey.  I joined 
him  the  next  morning  at  the  station.  The  vivacity  of 
the  night  before  had  utterly  vanished,  and  the  rudely 
sculptured  cliffy  face  struck  me  as  one  of  the  saddest 
I had  ever  seen.  The  eyes  especially  had  a depth  of 
melancholy  which  I had  never  seen  in  human  eyes 
before.  Some  things  he  wished  to  know  from  me, 
especially  regarding  Mr.  Chase,  whom,  among  others, 
he  had  called  to  Springfield.  He  asked  me  no  direct 
questions,  but  I very  soon  found  myself  speaking  freely 
to  him,  and  was  able  to  explain  some  not  well-known 
features  of  Ohio  politics  — and  much  to  his  satisfac- 
tion, as  he  let  me  see.  There  was  then  some  talk  of 
Mr.  Seward,  and  more  of  Senator  Cameron.  All  three 
had  been  his  rivals  at  Chicago,  and  were,  as  I then 
thought,  in  his  mind  as  possible  Cabinet  ministers ; 
although  no  word  was  said  by  him  of  such  an  idea  in 
reference  to  either.  Presently  he  conducted  me  to 
Mrs.  Lincoln,  whom  I had  not  before  seen.  Present- 
ing me,  he  returned  to  the  gentlemen  of  the  party,  and 
I saw  little  more  of  him  except  once  when  he  returned 
to  us,  before  I left  the  train.  Mrs.  Lincoln  impressed 
me  very  favorably,  as  a woman  of  spirit,  intelligence, 
and  decided  opinions,  which  she  put  very  clearly.  Our 
conversation  was  mainly  of  her  husband.  I remarked 
that  all  the  likenesses  I had  ever  seen  of  him  did  him 
injustice.  This  evidently  pleased  her.  I suggested 
that  a full  beard  from  the  underlip  down  (his  face 
was  shaven)  would  relieve  and  help  him  very  much. 


276  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


This  interested  her,  and  we  discussed  it  and  the  char- 
acter of  his  face  quite  fully.  The  impression  I then 
formed  of  this  most  unfortunate  lady  was  only  deep- 
ened by  the  pleasant  acquaintance  she  permitted,  down 
to  the  time  of  the  national  calamity,  which  unsettled 
- her  mind  as  I always  thought.” 

Of  the  New  York  City  visit,  an  excellent  account  is 
given  by  the  distinguished  preacher  and  writer,  Dr.  S. 
Irenaeus  Prime.  “ The  country  was  at  that  moment,” 
says  Dr.  Prime,  “ in  the  first  throes  of  the  great 
rebellion.  Millions  of  hearts  were  beating  anxiously  in 
view  of  the  advent  to  power  of  this  untried  man.  Had 
he  been  called  of  God  to  the  throne  of  power  at  such 
a time  as  this,  to  be  the  leader  and  deliverer  of  the 
people?  As  the  carriage  in  which  he  sat  passed  slowly 
by  me  on  the  Fifth  avenue,  he  was  looking  weary, 
sad,  feeble,  and  faint.  My  disappointment  was  ex- 
cessive ; so  great,  indeed,  as  to  be  almost  overwhelming. 
He  did  not  look  to  me  to  be  the  man  for  the  hour. 
The  next  day  I was  with  him  and  others  in  the  Gov- 
ernor’s room  in  the  City  Hall,  when  the  Mayor  of  the 
city  made  an  official  address.  Mr.  Lincoln’s  reply  was 
so  modest,  firm,  patriotic,  and  pertinent,  that  my 
fears  of  the  day  before  began  to  subside,  and  I saw 
in  this  new  man  a promise  of  great  things  to  come. 
It  was  not  boldness  or  dash,  or  high-sounding  pledges ; 
nor  did  he  while  in  office,  with  the  mighty  armies  of 
a roused  nation  at  his  command,  ever  assume  to  be 
more  than  he  promised  in  that  little  upper  chamber 
in  New  York,  on  his  journey  to  the  seat  of  Govern- 
ment, to  take  the  helm  of  the  ship  of  state  then  tossing 
in  the  storm.” 

Before  the  end  of  the  journey,  strong  fears  pre- 
vailed in  the  minds  of  Lincoln’s  friends  that  an  at- 
tempt would  be  made  to  assassinate  him  before  he 
should  reach  Washington.  Every  precaution  was 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  277 


taken  to  thwart  such  endeavor ; although  Lincoln  him- 
self was  disturbed  by  no  thought  of  danger.  He  had 
done,  he  contemplated  doing,  no  wrong,  no  injustice 
to  any  citizen  of  the  United  States ; why  then  should 
there  be  a desire  to  strike  him  down?  Thus  he 
reasoned ; and  he  was  free  from  any  dread  of  personal 
peril.  But  the  officials  of  the  railroads  over  which 
he  was  to  pass,  and  his  friends  in  Washington,  felt 
that  there  was  cause  for  apprehension.  It  was  believed 
by  them  that  a plot  existed  for  making  away  with  Lin- 
coln while  passing  through  Baltimore,  a city  in  the 
heart  of  a slave  State,  and  rife  with  the  spirit  of 
rebellion.  Detectives  had  been  employed  to  discover 
the  facts  in  the  matter,  and  their  reports  served  to 
confirm  the  most  alarming  conjectures.  A messenger 
was  despatched  from  Washington  to  intercept  the 
Presidential  party  and  warn  Lincoln  of  the  impending 
danger.  Dr.  Holland  states  that  “ the  detective  and 
Mr.  Lincoln  reached  Philadelphia  nearly  at  the  same 
time,  and  there  the  former  submitted  to  a few  of  the 
President’s  friends  the  information  he  had  secured. 
An  interview  between  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  detective 
was  immediately  arranged,  and  took  place  in  the  apart- 
ments of  the  former  at  the  Continental  Hotel.  Mr. 
Lincoln,  having  heard  the  officer’s  statement  in  detail, 
then  informed  him  that  he  had  promised  to  raise  the 
American  flag  on  Independence  Hall  the  following 
morning  — the  anniversary  of  Washington’s  birthday 
— and  that  he  had  accepted  an  invitation  to  a recep- 
tion by  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  same  day.  ‘ Both  of  these  engagements  I will 
keep,’  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  ‘ if  it  costs  me  my  life’  For 
the  rest,  he  authorized  the  detective  to  make  such  ar- 
rangements as  he  thought  proper  for  his  safe  conduct 
to  Washington.” 

In  the  meantime,  according  to  Dr.  Holland,  General 


278  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Scott  and  Senator  Seward,  both  of  whom  were  in 
Washington,  learned  from  independent  sources  that 
Lincoln’s  life  was  in  danger,  and  concurred  in  sending 
Mr.  Frederick  W.  Seward  to  Philadelphia  to  urge  upon 
him  the  necessity  of  proceeding  immediately  to  Wash- 
ington in  a quiet  way.  The  messenger  arrived  late  on 
Thursday  night,  after  Lincoln  had  retired,  and  re- 
quested an  audience.  Lincoln’s  fears  had  already 
been  aroused,  and  he  was  cautious,  of  course,  in  the 
matter  of  receiving  a stranger.  But  satisfied  that  the 
messenger  was  indeed  the  son  of  Mr.  Seward,  he  re- 
ceived him.  Nothing  needed  to  be  done  except  to 
inform  him  of  the  plan  entered  into  with  the  detec- 
tive, by  which  the  President  was  to  arrive  in  Wash- 
ington early  on  Saturday  morning,  in  advance  of 
his  family  and  party. 

On  the  morning  of  the  22d,  Lincoln,  as  he  had  prom- 
ised, attended  the  flag-raising  at  Independence  Hall 
in  Philadelphia,  the  historic  building  in  which  had  been 
adopted  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The  occa- 
sion was  a memorable  one,  and  Lincoln’s  address  elo- 
quent and  impressive.  “ All  the  political  sentiments 
I entertain,”  said  he,  “ have  been  drawn  from  the 
sentiments  which  were  given  to  the  world  from  this 
hall.”  He  spoke  calmly  but  firmly  of  his  resolve  to 
stand  by  the  principles  of  the  immortal  Declaration 
and  of  the  Constitution  of  his  country ; and,  as  though 
conscious  of  the  dangers  of  his  position,  he  added 
solemnly : “ I have  said  nothing  but  what  I am  willing 
to  live  by,  and,  if  it  be  the  'pleasure  of  Almighty  God, 
to  die  by” 

From  Philadelphia  Lincoln  went  immediately  to 
Harrisburg,  and  attended  the  reception  given  him  by 
the  Pennsylvania  Legislature,  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day.  Then,  leaving  his  hotel  in  the  evening,  at- 
tended only  by  Mr.  Lamon  and  the  detective  (Mr. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  279 


Allan  Pinkerton),  he  was  driven  to  the  depot,  where 
he  took  the  regular  train  for  Washington.  The  train 
passed  through  Baltimore  in  the  night,  and  early  the 
next  morning  (February  23)  reached  the  capital.  Mr. 
Washburne,  who  had  been  notified  to  be  at  the  depot  on 
the  arrival  of  the  train,  says : “ I planted  myself 

behind  one  of  the  great  pillars  in  the  old  Washington 
and  Baltimore  depot,  where  I could  see  and  not  be 
observed.  Presently,  the  train  came  rumbling  in  on 
time.  When  it  came  to  a stop  I watched  with  fear 
and  trembling  to  see  the  passengers  descend.  I saw 
every  car  emptied,  and  there  was  no  Mr.  Lincoln.  I 
was  well-nigh  in  despair,  and  when  about  to  leave  I 
saw  three  persons  slowly  emerge  from  the  last  sleep- 
ing-car. I could  not  mistake  the  long,  lank  form  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  and  my  heart  bounded  with  joy  and  grati- 
tude. He  had  on  a soft  low-crowned  hat,  a muffler 
around  his  neck,  and  a short  overcoat.  Anyone  who 
knew  him  at  that  time  could  not  have  failed  to  recog- 
nize him  at  once;  but  I must  confess  he  looked  more 
like  a well-to-do  farmer  from  one  of  the  back  towns 
of  Jo  Daviess  County,  coming  to  Washington  to  see 
the  city,  take  out  his  land  warrant  and  get  the  patent 
for  his  farm,  than  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
The  only  persons  that  accompanied  Mr.  Lincoln  were 
Pinkerton,  the  well-known  detective,  and  Ward  H. 
Lamon.  When  they  were  fairly  on  the  platform,  and  a 
short  distance  from  the  car,  I stepped  forward  and 
accosted  the  President:  ‘ How  are  you,  Lincoln?  ’ At 
this  unexpected  and  rather  familiar  salutation  the 
gentlemen  were  apparently  somewhat  startled ; but 
Mr.  Lincoln,  who  had  recognized  me,  relieved  them  at 
once  by  remarking  in  his  peculiar  voice : ‘ This  is  only 
Washburne ! ’ Then  we  all  exchanged  congratulations, 
and  walked  out  to  the  front  of  the  depot,  where  I had 
a carriage  in  waiting.  Entering  the  carriage  (all  four 


280  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


of  us),  we  drove  rapidly  to  Willard’s  Hotel,  entering 
x on  Fourteenth  Street,  before  it  was  fairly  daylight.” 

General  Stone,  who  was  in  command  at  Washing- 
ton at  that  time,  states  that  both  General  Scott  and 
himself  “ considered  it  almost  a certainty  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  could  not  pass  through  Baltimore  alive  on  the 
day  fixed,”  and  adds : “ I recommended  that  Mr.  Lin- 
coln should  be  officially  warned ; and  suggested  that 
it  would  be  best  that  he  should  take  the  train  that 
evening  from  Philadelphia,  and  so  reach  Washington 
early  the  next  day.  General  Scott  directed  me  to  see 
Mr.  Seward,  to  whom  he  wrote  a few  lines,  which  he 
handed  me.  I did  not  succeed  in  finding  Mr.  Seward 
until  past  noon.  I handed  him  the  General’s  note. 
He  listened  attentively  to  what  I said,  and  asked  me 
to  write  down  my  information  and  suggestions.  Then, 
taking  the  paper  I had  written,  he  hastily  left.  The 
note  I wrote  was  what  Mr.  Frederick  Seward  car- 
ried to  Mr.  Lincoln  in  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Lincoln  has 
stated  that  it  was  this  note  which  induced  him  to  change 
his  journey  as  he  did.  The  stories  of  disguises  are  all 
nonsense.  Mr.  Lincoln  merely  took  the  sleeping-car 
in  the  night  train.” 

There  is  little  doubt  that  the  fears  of  Lincoln’s 
friends  regarding  his  passage  through  Baltimore  were 
well  grounded;  and  that  but  for  the  timely  warnings 
and  precautions  the  assassination  of  April,  1865, 
might  have  taken  place  in  February  of  1861. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


Lincoln  at  the  Helm  — First  Days  in  Washington  — Meeting  Public 
Men  and  Discussing  Public  Affairs  — The  Inauguration  — The 
Inaugural  Address  — A New  Era  Begun  — Lincoln  in  the  White 
House  — The  First  Cabinet  — The  President  and  the  Office- 
seekers  — Southern  Prejudice  against  Lincoln  — Ominous  Portents, 
but  Lincoln  not  Dismayed — The  President’s  Reception  Room  — 
Varied  Impressions  of  the  New  President  — Guarding  the  White 
House. 

HE  week  following  Lincoln’s  arrival  in  Washing- 


1 ton,  and  preceding  his  inauguration,  was  for  him 
one  of  incessant  activity.  From  almost  the  first  mo- 
ment he  was  engrossed  either  in  preparations  for  his  in- 
auguration and  the  official  responsibilities  which  would 
immediately  follow  that  event,  or  in  receiving  the  dis- 
tinguished callers  who  hastened  to  meet  him  and  in 
discussing  with  them  the  grave  aspects  of  political 
affairs.  Without  rest  or  opportunity  to  survey  the 
field  that  lay  before  him,  or  any  preparations  save 
such  as  the  resources  of  his  own  strong  character 
might  afford  him,  he  was  plunged  instantly  into  the 
great  political  maelstrom  in  which  he  was  to  remain  for 
four  long  years,  and  whose  wild  vortex  might  well 
have  bewildered  an  eye  less  sure,  a will  less  resolute, 
and  a brain  less  cool  than  his.  As  Emerson  put  it, 
“ The  new  pilot  was  hurried  to  the  helm  in  a tornado.” 

“ Mr.  Lincoln’s  headquarters,”  says  Congressman 
Riddle  of  Ohio,  “ were  at  Willard’s  Hotel ; and  the 
few  days  before  the  inauguration  were  given  up  to  a 
continuous  reception  in  the  broad  corridor  of  the 
second  floor,  near  the  stairway.  I remember  a notable 
morning  when  the  majestic  General  Scott,  in  full  dress, 


282  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


sword,  plumes,  and  bullion,  came  to  pay  his  respects  to 
the  incoming  President.  The  scene  was  impressive. 
By  the  unknown  law  that  ruled  his  spirits,  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  at  his  best,  complete  master  of  himself  and  of  all 
who  came  within  the  magic  of  his  presence.  Never 
was  he  happier,  speaking  most  of  the  time,  flashing 
with  anecdote  and  story.  That  time  now  seems  as 
remote  as  things  of  a hundred  years  ago.  The  war 
antiquated  all  that  went  before  it.  The  Washington, 
the  men,  the  spirit  of  that  now  ancient  time,  have 
faded  past  all  power  to  recall  and  reproduce  them. 
The  real  Washington  was  as  essentially  Southern  as 
Richmond  or  Baltimore.  ‘ Lincoln  and  his  vandals,’ 
fresh  from  the  North  and  West,  were  thronging  the 
wide,  squat,  unattractive  city,  from  which  the  bolder 
\ and  braver  rebel  element  had  not  yet  departed.” 

Dr.  George  B.  Loring,  of  Massachusetts,  who  was 
one  of  the  first  to  meet  Lincoln  after  his  arrival  in 
Washington,  says : “ I saw  him  on  his  arrival,  and 
when  he  made  his  first  appearance  in  a public  place. 
I was  standing  in  the  upper  hall  of  Willard’s  Hotel, 
conversing  with  a friend  and  listening  to  the  confused 
talk  of  the  crowded  drawing-room  adjoining.  As  we 
stood  there,  a tall  and  awkward  form  appeared  above 
the  stairs,  especially  conspicuous,  as  it  came  into  view, 
for  a new  and  stylish  hat.  It  was  evidently  President 
Lincoln,  whom  neither  of  us  had  seen  before.  As  soon 
as  his  presence  was  known,  the  hall  was  thronged  from 
the  drawing-rooms.  He  seemed  somewhat  startled  by 
the  crowd,  did  not  remove  his  hat,  wended  his  way 
somewhat  rapidly  and  with  mere  passing  recognition, 
and  took  shelter  in  his  room.  When  the  crowd  had 
dispersed,  my  friend  and  myself  — although  we  had 
opposed  his  election — called  upon  him  to  pay  our 
respects.  He  received  us  with  great  cordiality,  spoke 
freely  of  the  difficulties  by  which  he  was  surrounded, 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  283 


and  referred  with  evident  satisfaction  to  the  support 
he  had  received  in  Massachusetts.  ‘ I like  your  man 
Banks,’  said  he,  ‘ and  have  tried  to  find  a place  for  him 
in  my  Cabinet ; but  I am  afraid  I shall  not  quite  fetch 
it.’  He  bore  the  marks  of  anxiety  in  his  countenance, 
which,  in  its  expression  of  patience,  determination, 
resolve,  and  deep  innate  modesty,  was  extremely 
touching.” 

Before  leaving  Springfield  Lincoln  had  prepared 
his  inaugural  message  with  great  care,  and  placed  it 
in  a “ gripsack  ” for  transportation  to  Washington. 
An  odd  incident,  by  which  the  message  came  near  being 
lost  on  the  journey,  was  afterwards  related  by  Lin- 
coln to  a friend.  When  the  party  reached  Harrisburg 
Lincoln  asked  his  son  Robert  where  the  message  was, 
and  was  taken  aback  by  his  son’s  confession  that  in  the 
excitement  caused  by  the  enthusiastic  reception  he  be- 
lieved he  had  let  a waiter  have  the  gripsack.  Lincoln, 
in  narrating  the  incident,  said : “ My  heart  went  up 
into  my  mouth,  and  I started  downstairs,  where  I 
was  told  that  if  a waiter  had  taken  the  gripsack  I 
should  probably  find  it  in  the  baggage-room.  Going 
there,  I saw  a large  pile  of  gripsacks  and  other  bag- 
gage, and  thought  that  I discovered  mine.  My  key 
fitted  it,  but  on  opening  there  was  nothing  inside  but 
a few  paper  collars  and  a flask  of  whisky.  A few 
moments  afterward  I came  across  my  own  gripsack, 
with  the  document  in  it  all  right.” 

The  fourth  of  March  soon  came,  and  with  it  the 
impressive  ceremonies  of  Lincoln’s  inauguration  as 
President.  A good  description  of  the  scene  is  given 
by  Dr.  J.  G.  Holland.  “ The  morning  broke  beauti- 
fully clear,  and  it  found  General  Scott  and  the  Wash- 
ington police  in  readiness.  In  the  hearts  of  the  surg- 
ing crowds  there  was  anxiety ; but  outside  all  looked 
as  usual  on  such  occasions,  with  the  exception  of  an 


284  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


extraordinary  display  of  soldiers.  The  public  build- 
ings, the  schools,  and  most  of  the  places  of  business, 
were  closed  during  the  day,  and  the  stars  and  stripes 
were  floating  from  every  flag-staff.  There  was  a 
great  desire  to  hear  Lincoln’s  inaugural ; and  at  an 
early  hour  Pennsylvania  Avenue  was  full  of  people 
wending  their  way  to  the  east  front  of  the  Capitol 
where  it  was  to  be  delivered.  As  the  Presidential  party 
reached  the  platform  erected  for  the  ceremonies,  Sena- 
tor Baker  of  Oregon,  one  of  Lincoln’s  old  friends  and 
political  rivals  in  Illinois,  introduced  him  to  the  as- 
sembly. There  was  not  a very  hearty  welcome  given 
to  the  President  as  he  stepped  forward  to  read  his 
inaugural.  The  reading  was  listened  to  with  profound 
attention,  those  passages  which  contained  any  allusion 
to  the  Union  being  vociferously  cheered.  None  listened 
more  carefully  than  Mr.  Buchanan  and  Judge  Taney, 
the  latter  of  whom,  with  noticeable  agitation,  admin- 
istered the  oath  of  office  to  Mr.  Lincoln  when  his 
address  was  ended.” 

Another  eye-witness  has  described  the  dramatic 
scene,  and  the  principal  actors  in  it,  in  the  following 
graphic  paragraphs:  “Near  noon  I found  myself  a 
member  of  the  motley  crowd  gathered  around  the  side 
entrance  to  Willard’s  Hotel.  Soon  an  open  barouche 
drove  up,  and  the  only  occupant  stepped  out.  A large, 
heav}r,  awkward-moving  man,  far  advanced  in  years, 
short  and  thin  gray  hair,  full  face  plentifully  seamed 
and  wrinkled,  head  curiously  inclined  to  the  left  shoul- 
der, a low-crowned,  broad-brimmed  silk  hat,  an  im- 
mense white  cravat  like  a poultice  thrusting  the  old- 
fashioned  standing  collar  up  to  the  ears,  dressed  in 
black  throughout,  with  swallow-tail  coat  not  of  the 
newest  style.  It  was  President  Buchanan,  calling  to 
take  his  successor  to  the  Capitol.  In  a few  minutes 
he  reappeared,  with  Mr.  Lincoln  on  his  arm;  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  285 


two  took  seats  side  by  side,  and  the  carriage  rolled 
away,  followed  by  a rather  disorderly  and  certainly  not 
very  imposing  procession.  I had  ample  time  to  walk 
to  the  Capitol,  and  no  difficulty  in  securing  a place 
where  everything  could  be  seen  and  heard  to  the  best 
advantage.  The  attendance  at  the  inauguration  was, 
they  told  me,  unusually  small ; many  being  kept  away 
by  anticipated  disturbance,  as  it  had  been  ru- 
mored — not  without  good  grounds  — that  General 
Scott  himself  was  fearful  of  an  outbreak,  and  had 
made  all  possible  military  preparations  to  meet  the 
emergency.  A square  platform  had  been  built  out 
from  the  steps  to  the  eastern  portico,  with  benches  for 
distinguished  spectators  on  three  sides.  Senator  Doug- 
las, the  only  one  I recognized,  sat  at  the  extreme  end 
of  the  seat  on  the  right  of  the  narrow  passage  lead- 
ing from  the  steps.  There  was  no  delay,  and  the  gaunt 
form  of  the  President-elect  was  soon  visible,  slowly 
making  his  way  to  the  front.  To  me,  at  least,  he  was 
completely  metamorphosed  — partly  by  his  own  fault, 
and  partly  through  the  efforts  of  injudicious  friends 
and  ambitious  tailors.  He  was  raising  (to  gratify  a 
very  young  lady,  it  is  said)  a crop  of  whiskers,  of  the 
blacking-brush  variety,  coarse,  stiff,  and  ungraceful ; 
and  in  so  doing  spoiled,  or  at  least  seriously  impaired, 
a face  which,  though  never  handsome,  had  in  its  origi- 
nal state  a peculiar  power  and  pathos.  On  the  present 
occasion  the  whiskers  were  reinforced  by  brand-new 
clothes  from  top  to  toe;  black  dress  coat  instead  of 
the  usual  frock ; black  cloth  or  satin  vest,  black  panta- 
loons, and  a glossy  hat  evidently  just  out  of  the  box. 
To  cap  the  climax  of  novelty,  he  carried  a huge  ebony 
cane,  with  a gold  head  the  size  of  an  egg.  In  these,  to 
him,  strange  habiliments,  he  looked  so  miserably  uncom- 
fortable that  I could  not  help  pitying  him.  Reaching 
the  platform,  his  discomfort  was  visibly  increased  by 


286  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


not  knowing  what  to  do  with  hat  and  cane;  and  so 
he  stood  there,  the  target  for  ten  thousand  eyes,  hold- 
ing his  cane  in  one  hand  and  his  hat  in  the  other,  the 
picture  of  helpless  embarrassment.  After  some  hesi- 
tation, he  pushed  the  cane  into  a corner  of  the  railing, 
but  could  not  find  a place  for  the  hat,  except  on  the 
floor,  where  I could  see  he  did  not  like  to  risk  it. 
Douglas,  who  fully  took  in  the  situation,  came  to  the 
rescue  of  his  old  friend  and  rival,  and  held  the  precious 
hat  until  the  owner  needed  it  again;  a service  which, 
if  predicted  two  years  before,  would  probably  have 
astonished  him.  The  oath  of  office  was  administered 
by  Chief  Justice  Taney,  whose  black  robes,  attenuated 
figure,  and  cadaverous  countenance  reminded  me  of  a 
galvanized  corpse.  Then  the  President  came  forward 
and  read  his  inaugural  address  in  a clear  and  distinct 
voice.  It  was  attentively  listened  to  by  all;  but  the 
closest  listener  was  Douglas,  who  leaned  forward  as  if 
to  catch  every  word,  nodding  his  head  emphatically  at 
those  passages  which  most  pleased  him.  I must  not 
forget  to  mention  the  presence  of  a Mephistopheles  in 
the  person  of  Senator  Wigfall  of  Texas,  who  stood  with 
folded  arms  leaning  against  the  doorway  of  the  Capitol, 
looking  down  upon  the  crowd  and  the  ceremony  with  a 
contemptuous  air  which  sufficiently  indicated  his  opin- 
ion of  the  whole  performance.  To  him,  the  Southern 
Confederacy  was  already  an  accomplished  fact.” 

“ Under  the  shadow  of  the  great  Eastern  portico  of 
the  Capitol,”  says  General  John  A.  Logan,  “with  the 
retiring  President  and  Cabinet,  the  Supreme  Court  Jus- 
tices, the  Foreign  Diplomatic  Corps,  and  hundreds  of 
Senators,  Representatives,  and  other  distinguished  per- 
sons filling  the  great  platform  on  either  side  and  be- 
hind them,  Abraham  Lincoln  stood  bareheaded  before 
full  thirty  thousand  people,  upon  whose  uplifted  faces 
the  unveiled  glory  of  the  mild  Spring  sun  now  shone  — 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  287 


stood  reverently  before  that  far  greater  and  mightier 
Presence  termed  by  himself,  ‘ My  rightful  masters,  the 
American  people  ’ — and  pleaded  in  a manly,  earnest, 
and  affectionate  strain  with  ‘ such  as  were  dissatisfied  ’ 
to  listen  to  the  ‘ better  angels  ’ of  their  nature.  ‘ Tem- 
perate, reasonable,  kindly  persuasive  ’ — it  seems 
strange  that  Lincoln’s  inaugural  address  did  not  dis- 
arm at  least  the  personal  resentment  of  the  South 
toward  him,  and  sufficiently  strengthen  Union-loving 
people  there  against  the  red-hot  Secessionists,  to  put 
the  ‘ brakes  ’ down  on  rebellion.” 

The  address  was  devoted  almost  exclusively  to  the 
great  absorbing  topic  of  the  hour  — the  attempt  of  the 
Southern  States  to  withdraw  from  the  Union  and  erect 
an  independent  republic.  The  calm,  firm,  moderate, 
judicious  spirit  which  pervaded  Lincoln’s  address  is 
apparent  in  the  following  quotations,  which  contain 
its  most  significant  and  memorable  passages : 

Fellow-Citizens  of  the  United  States:  — In  compli- 
ance with  a custom  as  old  as  the  Government  itself,  I 
appear  before  you  to  address  you  briefly,  and  to  take 
in  your  presence  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  to  be  taken  by  the  President 
“ before  he  enters  on  the  execution  of  his  office.”  . . . 
Apprehension  seems  to  exist  among  the  people  of  the 
Southern  States,  that  by  the  accession  of  a Republican 
Administration  their  property  and  their  peace  and  per- 
sonal security  are  to  be  endangered.  There  has  never 
been  any  reasonable  cause  for  such  apprehension.  In- 
deed, the  most  ample  evidence  to  the  contrary  has  all 
the  while  existed  and  been  open  to  their  inspection.  It 
is  found  in  nearly  all  the  published  speeches  of  him  who 
now  addresses  you.  I do  but  quote  from  one  of  those 
speeches  when  I declare  that  “ I have  no  purpose, 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  interfere  with  the  institution 
of  slavery  in  the  States  where  it  exists.  I believe  I 


288  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


have  no  lawful  right  to  do  so,  and  I have  no  inclination 
to  do  so.”  Those  who  nominated  and  elected  me  did 
so  with  full  knowledge  that  I had  made  this  and  many 
similar  declarations,  and  have  never  recanted  them. 
. . . I now  reiterate  these  sentiments ; and,  in  doing 
so,  I only  press  upon  the  public  attention  the  most 
conclusive  evidence  of  which  the  case  is  susceptible, 
that  the  property,  peace,  and  security  of  no  section  are 
to  be  in  anywise  endangered  by  the  now  incoming  Ad- 
ministration. I add,  too,  that  all  the  protection  which, 
consistently  with  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  can  be 
given,  will  be  cheerfully  given  to  all  the  States,  when 
lawfully  demanded,  for  whatever  cause  — as  cheer- 
fully to  one  section  as  to  another.  ...  I hold  that,  in 
contemplation  of  universal  law,  and  of  the  Constitution, 
the  Union  of  these  States  is  perpetual.  Perpetuity  is 
implied,  if  not  expressed,  in  the  fundamental  law  of  all 
National  Governments.  It  is  safe  to  assert  that  no 
Government  proper  ever  had  a provision  in  its  organic 
law  for  its  own  termination.  Continue  to  execute  all 
the  express  provisions  of  our  National  Constitution, 
and  the  Union  will  endure  forever.  ...  I therefore 
consider  that,  in  view  of  the  Constitution  and  the  laws, 
the  Union  is  unbroken,  and  to  the  extent  of  my  ability 
I shall  take  care,  as  the  Constitution  itself  expressly 
enjoins  upon  me,  that  the  laws  of  the  Union  be  faith- 
fully executed  in  all  the  States.  Doing  this  I deem 
to  be  only  a simple  duty  on  my  part;  and  I shall  per- 
form it,  so  far  as  practicable,  unless  my  rightful  mas- 
ters, the  American  people,  shall  withhold  the  requisite 
means,  or,  in  some  authoritative  manner,  direct  the 
contrary.  I trust  this  will  not  be  regarded  as  a men- 
ace, but  only  as  the  declared  purpose  of  the  Union  that 
it  will  constitutionally  defend  and  maintain  itself.  In 
doing  this,  there  need  be  no  bloodshed  or  violence;  and 
there  shall  be  none,  unless  it  be  forced  upon  the  national 
authority.  The  power  confided  to  me  will  be  used  to 
hold,  occupy,  and  possess  the  property  and  places  be- 
longing to  the  Government,  and  to  collect  the  duties 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  289 


and  imposts ; but  beyond  what  may  be  but  necessary 
for  these  objects,  there  will  be  no  invasion,  no  using 
of  force  against  or  among  the  people  anywhere.  . . . 
Physically  speaking,  we  cannot  separate.  We  cannot 
remove  our  respective  sections  from  each  other,  nor 
build  an  impassable  wall  between  them.  A husband 
and  wife  may  be  divorced,  and  go  out  of  the  presence 
and  beyond  the  reach  of  each  other;  but  the  different 
parts  of  our  country  cannot  do  this.  They  cannot  but 
remain  face  to  face;  and  intercourse,  either  amicable 
or  hostile,  must  continue  between  them.  It  is  impossi- 
ble, then,  to  make  that  intercourse  more  advantageous 
or  more  satisfactory  after  separation  than  before. 
Can  aliens  make  treaties  easier  than  friends  can  make 
law?  Can  treaties  be  more  faithfully  enforced  between 
aliens  than  laws  can  among  friends?  Suppose  you  go 
to  war,  you  cannot  fight  always ; and  when,  after  much 
loss  on  both  sides  and  no  gain  on  either,  you  cease 
fighting,  the  identical  old  questions,  as  to  terms  of 
intercourse,  are  again  upon  you.  . . . This  country, 
with  its  institutions,  belongs  to  the  people  who  inhabit 
it.  Whenever  they  shall  grow  weary  of  the  existing 
Government,  they  can  exercise  their  constitutional  right 
of  amending  it,  or  their  revolutionary  right  to  dis- 
member or  overthrow  it.  I cannot  be  ignorant  of  the 
fact  that  many  worthy  and  patriotic  citizens  are  de- 
sirous of  having  the  National  Constitution  amended. 
While  I make  no  recommendation  of  amendments,  I 
fully  recognize  the  rightful  authority  of  the  people  over 
the  whole  subject,  to  be  exercised  in  either  of  the  modes 
prescribed  in  the  instrument  itself ; and  I should,  under 
existing  circumstances,  favor  rather  than  oppose  a fair 
opportunity  being  afforded  the  people  to  act  upon  it. 
. . . The  Chief  Magistrate  derives  all  his  authority 
from  the  people,  and  they  have  conferred  none  upon 
him  to  fix  terms  for  the  separation  of  the  States.  The 
people  themselves  can  do  this  also,  if  they  choose;  but 
the  Executive,  as  such,  has  nothing  to  do  with  it.  His 
duty  is  to  administer  the  present  Government  as  it 


290  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


came  to  his  hands,  and  to  transmit  it,  unimpaired  by 
him,  to  his  successor.  . . . By  the  frame  of  the  Gov- 
ernment under  which  we  live,  the  same  people  have 
wisely  given  their  public  servants  but  little  power  for 
mischief ; and  have,  with  equal  wisdom,  provided  for 
the  return  of  that  little  to  their  own  hands  at  very 
short  intervals.  While  the  people  retain  their  virtue 
and  vigilance,  no  administration,  by  any  extreme  of 
wickedness  or  folly,  can  very  seriously  injure  the  Gov- 
ernment in  the  short  space  of  four  years. 

My  countrymen,  one  and  all,  think  calmly  and  well 
upon  this  whole  subject.  Nothing  valuable  can  be  lost 
by  taking  time.  If  there  be  an  object  to  hurry  any  of 
you  in  hot  haste  to  a step  which  you  would  never  take 
deliberately,  that  object  will  be  frustrated  by  taking 
time;  but  no  good  can  be  frustrated  by  it.  Such  of 
you  as  are  now  dissatisfied  still  have  the  old  Consti- 
tution unimpaired,  and,  on  the  sensitive  point,  the  laws 
of  your  own  framing  under  it ; while  the  new  adminis- 
tration will  have  no  immediate  power,  if  it  would,  to 
change  either.  If  it  were  admitted  that  you  who  are 
dissatisfied  hold  the  right  side  in  the  dispute,  there  still 
is  no  single  good  reason  for  precipitate  action.  Intelli- 
gence, patriotism,  Christianity,  and  a firm  reliance  on 
Him  who  has  never  yet  forsaken  this  favored  land,  are 
still  competent  to  adjust,  in  the  best  way,  all  our 
present  difficulty. 

In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow-countrymen, 
and  not  in  mine,  is  the  momentous  issue  of  civil  war. 
The  Government  will  not  qssail  you.  You  can  have 
no  conflict  without  being  yourselves  the  aggressors. 
You  have  no  oath  registered  in  heaven  to  destroy  the 
Government ; while  I shall  have  the  most  solemn  one  to 
“ preserve,  protect,  and  defend  ” it. 

I am  loth  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies,  but  friends. 
We  must  not  be  enemies.  Though  passion  may  have 
strained,  it  must  not  break,  our  bonds  of  affection. 
The  mystic  chords  of  memory,  stretching  from  every 
battlefield  and  patriot  grave  to  every  living  heart  and 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  291 


hearthstone  all  over  this  broad  land,  will  yet  swell  the 
chorus  of  the  Union,  when  again  touched,  as  surely  they 
will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our  nature. 

At  the  close  of  the  address,  which  was  delivered  with 
the  utmost  earnestness  and  solemnity,  Lincoln,  “ with 
reverent  look  and  impressive  emphasis,  repeated  the 
oath  to  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution 
of  his  country.  Douglas,  who  knew  the  conspirators 
and  their  plots,  with  patriotic  magnanimity  then 
grasped  the  hand  of  the  President,  gracefully  extended 
his  congratulations,  and  the  assurance  that  in  the  dark 
future  he  would  stand  by  him,  and  give  to  him  his 
utmost  aid  in  upholding  the  Constitution  and  enforcing 
the  laws  of  his  country.” 

“ At  the  inauguration,”  says  Congressman  Riddle, 
“ I stood  within  a yard  of  Mr.  Lincoln  when  he  pro- 
nounced his  famous  address.  How  full  of  life  and 
power  it  then  was,  with  the  unction  of  his  utterance! 
Surely,  we  thought,  the  South,  which  rejected  the  con- 
cessions of  Congress,  would  accept  him.  How  dry  and 
quaint,  yet  ingenious,  much  of  that  inaugural  appears 
to  me  now,  when  the  life  and  soul  seem  to  have  gone 
out  of  it ! A sad  thing  — a spectre  of  the  day  — 
will  forever  haunt  my  memory:  Poor  old  President 
Buchanan,  short,  stout,  pale,  white-haired,  yet  bear- 
ing himself  resolutely  throughout,  linked  by  the  arm 
to  the  new  President,  into  whom  from  himself  was 
passing  the  qualifying  unction  of  the  Constitution, 
jostled  hither  and  thither,  as  already  out  of  men’s 
sight,  yet  bravely  maintaining  the  shadow  of  dignity 
and  place.  How  glad  he  must  have  been  to  take  leave 
of  his  successor  at  the  White  House  when  all  was 
ended ! ” 

The  formalities  of  the  inauguration  concluded,  Lin- 
coln passed  back  through  the  Senate  Chamber,  and, 


292  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


again  escorted  by  Mr.  Buchanan,  was  conducted  to 
the  White  House,  where  the  cares  and  anxieties  of  his 
position  immediately  descended  upon  him.  “ Strange 
indeed,”  says  General  Logan,  “ must  have  been  the 
thoughts  that  crowded  through  the  brain  and  oppressed 
the  heart  of  Abraham  Lincoln  that  night  — his  first 
at  the  White  House.  The  City  of  Washington  swarmed 
with  rebels  and  rebel  sympathizers,  and  all  the  depart- 
ments of  Government  were  honeycombed  with  treason 
and  shadowed  with  treachery  and  espionage.  Every 
step  proposed  or  contemplated  by  the  Government 
would  be  known  to  the  so-called  Government  of  the 
Confederate  States  almost  as  soon  as  thought  of.  All 
means  to  thwart  and  delay  the  carrying  out  of  the 
Government’s  purposes  that  the  excuses  of  routine  and 
red  tape  admitted  of  would  be  used  by  the  traitors 
within  the  camp  to  aid  the  traitors  without.  No  one 
knew  all  this  better  than  Mr.  Lincoln.  With  no  army, 
no  navy,  not  even  a revenue  cutter  left  — with  forts 
and  arsenals,  ammunition  and  arms,  in  possession  of 
the  South,  with  no  money  in  the  National  Treasury, 
and  the  National  credit  blasted  — the  position  must, 
even  to  his  hopeful  nature,  have  seemed  desperate. 
Yet  even  in  this  awful  hour,  he  was  sustained  by  con- 
fidence in  the  good  effects  of  his  conciliatory  message 
to  the  South,  and  by  his  trust  in  the  patriotism  of  the 
\ people  and  the  Providence  of  God.” 

Mr.  Welles,  the  incoming  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in 
writing  of  the  period  immediately  following  the  in- 
auguration, says : “ A strange  state  of  things  existed 
at  that  time  in  Washington.  The  atmosphere  was  thick 
with  treason.  Party  spirit  and  old  party  differences 
prevailed  amidst  the  accumulating  dangers.  Secession 
was  considered  by  most  persons  as  a political  party 
question,  not  as  rebellion.  Democrats  to  a large  ex- 
tent sympathized  with  the  Rebels  more  than  with  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  293 


Administration.  The  Republicans,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  scarcely  less  partisan  and  unreasonable  . . . 
clamorous  for  the  removal  of  all  Democrats,  indis- 
criminately, from  office.” 

The  President’s  first  official  act  was  the  announce- 
ment of  his  Cabinet,  which  was  composed  of  the  follow- 
ing persons:  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State; 
Simon  Cameron,  Secretary  of  War;  Salmon  P.  Chase, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury ; Gideon  Welles,  Secretary 
of  the  Navy;  Caleb  B.  Smith,  Secretary  of  the  In- 
terior ; Montgomery  Blair,  Postmaster  General ; and 
Edward  Bates,  Attorney  General.  Lincoln  had  selected 
these  counselors  with  grave  deliberation.  In  reply  to 
the  remonstrances  urged,  on  political  grounds,  against 
the  appointment  of  one  or  two  of  them,  he  had  said : 
“ The  times  are  too  grave  and  perilous  for  ambitious 
schemes  and  personal  rivalries.  I need  the  aid  of  all 
of  these  men.  They  enjoy  the  confidence  of  their  sev- 
eral States  and  sections,  and  they  will  strengthen  the 
administration.”  On  another  occasion  he  remarked: 
“ It  wrill  require  the  utmost  skill,  influence,  and  sa- 
gacity of  all  of  us,  to  save  the  country ; let  us  forget 
ourselves,  and  join  hands  like  brothers  to  save  the 
Republic.  If  we  succeed,  there  will  be  glory  enough 
for  all.” 

Speculations  have  been  almost  endless  as  to  how  the 
Cabinet  came  to  be  made  up  as  it  was.  But  the  truth 
is,  according  to  Secretary  Welles,  that  it  was  practi- 
cally made  up  in  Springfield  almost  as  soon  as  Lincoln 
found  himself  elected.  In  Lincoln’s  own  words,  as 
given  by  Mr.  Welles : “ On  the  day  of  the  Presidential 
election  the  operator  of  the  telegraph  in  Springfield 
placed  his  instrument  at  my  disposal.  I was  there 
without  leaving,  after  the  returns  began  to  come  in, 
until  we  had  enough  to  satisfy  us  how  the  election  had 
gone.  This  was  about  two  in  the  morning  of  Wednes- 


294  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


day.  I went  home,  but  not  to  get  much  sleep ; for  I 
then  felt,  as  I never  had  before,  the  responsibility  that 
was  upon  me.  I began  at  once  to  feel  that  I needed 
support,  — others  to  share  with  me  the  burden.  This 
was  on  Wednesday  morning,  and  before  the  sun  went 
down  I had  made  up  my  Cabinet.  It  was  almost  the 
same  that  I finally  appointed.” 

The  only  two  members  of  the  Cabinet  who  served 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  Lincoln’s  adminis- 
tration were  Welles  and  Seward.  Stanton  was  not 
appointed  until  January  13,  1862,  succeeding  Simon 
Cameron.  Chase  left  the  Treasury  Department  to  be- 
come Chief  Justice,  and  was  succeeded  in  the  Treasury 
Department  by  ex-Governor  Fessenden  of  Vermont, 
who  in  his  turn  was  succeeded  by  Hugh  McCulloch. 
The  Attorney  General’s  chair  was  filled  successively  by 
Bates  and  Speed.  Caleb  B.  Smith  was  the  first  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior,  succeeded  (January  1,  1863)  by 
John  P.  Usher.  The  first  Postmaster  General  was 
Montgomery  Blair,  who  was  followed  (September  4, 
1864)  by  ex-Governor  Dennison  of  Ohio.  The  appoint- 
ment that  gave  the  greatest  surprise  of  any  in  the 
Cabinet  was  that  of  Stanton  as  Secretary  of  War. 
Stanton  had  been  in  Buchanan’s  cabinet  as  Attorney 
General.  He  had  been  outspoken,  almost  brutal,  in 
his  scornful  hostility  to  Lincoln,  and  the  appointment 
by  him  was  as  great  a surprise  to  Stanton  as  his 
acceptance  of  it  was  to  everyone.  When  asked,  some- 
what incredulously,  what  he  would  do  as  War  Secre- 
tary Stanton  replied,  “ I will  make  Abe  Lincoln  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States .”  Of  the  character  of  this 
remarkable  man,  Mr.  Alonzo  Rothschild,  in  his  inter- 
esting study  of  the  relations  between  Lincoln  and 
Stanton  (“Lincoln,  Master  of  Men,”  p.  229),  says: 
“ Intense  earnestness  marked  Stanton’s  every  act.  So 
sharply  were  all  his  faculties  focused  upon  the  purpose 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  295 


of  the  hour  that  he  is  to  be  classed  among  the  one-idea 
men  of  history.  Whatever  came  between  him  and  his 
goal  encountered  an  iron  will.  . . . Quick  to  penetrate 
through  the  husks  of  fraud  into  the  very  nubbin  of 
things,  he  was  even  more  swiftly  moved  by  relentless 
wrath  to  insist  upon  exposure  and  punishment.  The 
brief  career  [as  Attorney  General]  in  Buchanan’s 
cabinet  had  been  long  enough  to  demonstrate  his  almost 
savage  hostility  toward  official  dishonesty,  as  well  as 
his  moral  courage  to  grapple  with  treason  in  high 
places.  Above  all,  he  evinced  a loyalty  to  the  Union 
that  rose  above  the  party  creed  of  a lifetime  — that 
might  demand  of  him  any  sacrifice  however  great.” 

The  first  weeks  of  President  Lincoln’s  residence  in  the 
Executive  Mansion  were  occupied  with  the  arduous  work 
of  selecting  loyal  and  capable  men  for  responsible  posi- 
tions in  the  Government  service.  The  departments  at 
Washington  were  filled  with  disloyal  men,  who  used 
the  means  and  influence  pertaining  to  their  places  to 
aid  the  rebellious  States.  It  was  of  vital  importance 
that  these  faithless  officials  should  be  removed  at  the 
earliest  moment,  and  their  positions  filled  with  men 
of  tried  integrity.  Lincoln  desired  to  appoint  for  this 
purpose  stanch,  competent,  and  trustworthy  citizens, 
regardless  of  party  distinctions.  But  the  labor  in- 
volved in  this  duty  was  enormous  and  exhausting. 
There  was  a multitude  of  vacant  places,  there  were 
difficult  questions  to  be  considered  in  a majority  of 
cases,  and  there  was  a host  of  applicants  and  their 
friends  to  be  satisfied.  Mr.  Charles  A.  Dana  relates 
a circumstance  which  hints  at  the  troubles  encountered 
by  Lincoln  in  this  province  of  his  Presidential  duties. 
“ The  first  time  I saw  Mr.  Lincoln,”  says  Mr.  Dana, 
“ was  shortly  after  his  inauguration.  He  had  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Seward  to  be  his  Secretary  of  State; 
and  some  of  the  Republican  leaders  of  New  York,  who 


296  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


had  been  instrumental  in  preventing  Mr.  Seward’s 
nomination  to  the  Presidency  and  in  securing  that  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  had  begun  to  fear  that  they  would  be 
left  out  in  the  cold  in  the  distribution  of  the  offices. 
Accordingly  several  of  them  determined  to  go  to  Wash- 
ington, and  I was  asked  to  go  with  them.  We  all 
went  up  to  the  White  House  together,  except  Mr. 
Stanton,  who  stayed  away  because  he  was  himself  an 
applicant  for  office.  Mr.  Lincoln  received  us  in  the 
large  room  upstairs  in  the  east  wing  of  the  White 
House,  where  the  President  had  his  working  office,  and 
stood  up  while  General  Wadsworth,  who  was  our  prin- 
cipal spokesman,  stated  what  was  desired.  After  the 
interview  was  begun,  a big  Indianian,  who  was  a mes- 
senger in  attendance  in  the  White  House,  came  into 
the  room  and  said  to  the  President,  ‘ She  wants  you.’ 
‘ Yes,  yes,’  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  without  stirring.  Soon 
afterward  the  messenger  returned  again,  exclaiming, 
‘ I say  she  wants  you.’  The  President  was  evidently 
annoyed,  but  instead  of  going  out  after  the  messenger 
he  remarked  to  us : ‘ One  side  shall  not  gobble  up 
everything.  Make  out  a list  of  the  places  and  men 
you  want,  and  I will  endeavor  to  apply  the  rule  of 
give  and  take.’  General  Wadsworth  answered:  ‘Our 
party  will  not  be  able  to  remain  in  Washington,  but 
we  will  leave  such  a list  with  Mr.  Carroll,  and  what- 
ever he  agrees  to  will  be  agreeable  to  us.’  Mr.  Lincoln 
continued,  ‘ Let  Mr.  Carroll  come  in  to-morrow,  and 
we  will  see  what  can  be  done.’  ” 

Lincoln  was  regarded  with  violent  animosity  by  all 
who  were  in  sympathy  with  the  peculiar  prejudices  of 
the  slave  States.  The  inhabitants  of  the  District  of 
Columbia  looked  upon  him  with  especial  dislike.  He 
was  to  them  an  odious  embodiment  of  the  abhorred 
principles  of  Abolitionism.  As  an  illustration  of  this 
bitter  feeling,  Mr.  Arnold  narrates  the  following  anec- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  297 


dote : “ A distinguished  South  Carolina  lady  — one 
of  the  Howards  — the  widow  of  a Northern  scholar, 
called  upon  him  out  of  curiosity.  She  was  very  proud 
and  aristocratic,  and  was  curious  to  see  a man  who 
had  been  represented  to  her  as  a monster,  a mixture 
of  the  ape  and  the  tiger.  She  was  shown  into  the  room 
where  were  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Senators  Seward,  Hale, 
Chase,  and  other  prominent  members  of  Congress.  As 
Mr.  Seward,  whom  she  knew,  presented  her  to  the  Presi- 
dent, she  hissed  in  his  ear : ‘ I am  a South  Carolinian.’ 
Instantly  reading  her  character,  he  turned  and  ad- 
dressed her  with  the  greatest  coui'tesy,  and  dignified 
and  gentlemanly  politeness.  After  listening  a few 
moments,  astonished  to  find  him  so  different  from  what 
he  had  been  described  to  her,  she  said : ‘ Why,  Mr. 
Lincoln,  you  look,  act,  and  speak  like  a kind,  good- 
hearted,  generous  man.’  ‘ And  did  you  expect  to  meet 
a savage?’  said  he.  ‘Certainly  I did, 'or  even  some- 
thing worse,’  replied  she.  ‘ I am  glad  I have  met  you,’ 
she  continued,  ‘ and  now  the  best  way  to  preserve  peace 
is  for  you  to  go  to  Charleston  and  show  the  people 
what  you  are,  and  tell  them  you  have  no  intention  of 
injuring  them.’  Returning  home,  she  found  a party  of 
Secessionists,  and  on  entering  the  room  she  exclaimed, 
‘ I have  seen  him ! I have  seen  him ! ’ ‘ Who  ? ’ they 

inquired.  ‘ That  terrible  monster,  Lincoln,  and  I found 
him  a gentleman,  and  I am  going  to  his  first  levee  after 
his  inauguration.’  At  his  first  reception,  this  tall 
daughter  of  South  Carolina,  dressing  herself  in  black 
velvet,  with  two  long  white  plumes  in  her  hair,  repaired 
to  the  White  House.  She  was  nearly  six  feet  high,  with 
black  eyes  and  black  hair,  and  in  her  velvet  and  white 
feathers  she  was  a striking  and  majestic  figure.  As 
she  approached  the  President  he  recognized  her  imme- 
diately. ‘ Here  I am  again,’  said  she,  ‘ that  South 
Carolinian.’  ‘ I am  glad  to  see  you,’  replied  he,  ‘ and 


298  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


to  assure  you  that  the  first  object  of  my  heart  is  to 
preserve  peace,  and  I wish  that  not  only  you  but 
every  son  and  daughter  of  South  Carolina  were  here, 
that  I might  tell  them  so.’  Mr.  Cameron,  Secretary 
of  War,  came  up,  and  after  some  remarks  he  said, 
‘ South  Carolina  [which  had  already  seceded]  is  the 
prodigal  son.’  ‘ Ah,  Mr.  Secretary,’  said  she,  ‘ if 
South  Carolina  is  the  prodigal  son,  Uncle  Sam,  our 
father,  ought  to  divide  the  inheritance,  and  let  her 
go ; but  they  say  you  are  going  to  make  war  upon 
us;  is  it  so?’  ‘Oh,  come  back,’  said  Lincoln,  ‘tell 
South  Carolina  to  come  back  now,  and  we  will  kill  the 
fatted  calf.’  ” 

The  impression  which  Lincoln  made  on  those  who 
met  him  at  the  outset  of  his  career  as  President,  and 
their  varied  comments  and  descriptions,  are  matters 
of  peculiar  interest.  At  first,  many  people  did  not 
understand  him  — hardly  knew  what  to  make  of  a 
personality  so  unlike  any  they  had  ever  seen  in  high 
places  before.  But  he  soon  began  to  show  those  quali- 
ties of  calm  self-reliance,  quickness  to  grasp  the  essen- 
tial factors  of  a situation  and  readiness  to  meet  it, 
courage,  patience,  firmness,  breadth  of  view  and  kindli- 
ness, practical  tact  and  wisdom,  which  were  a surprise 
to  all  who  knew  him,  and  are  now  seen  to  be  but  a.  rapid 
and  logical  unfolding,  under  the  stimulus  of  his  enor- 
mous responsibilities,  of  his  great  natural  powers.  The 
test  had  come,  the  crisis  was  upon  him ; and  he  met 
them  marvelously  well. 

General  W.  T.  Sherman  contributes  an  interesting 
reminiscence  at  this  point.  “ One  day,”  says  General 
Sherman,  “ my  brother,  Senator  Sherman,  took  me 
with  him  to  see  Mr.  Lincoln.  We  found  the  room  full 
of  people.  Mr.  Lincoln  sat  at  the  end  of  a table, 
talking  with  three  or  four  gentlemen,  who  soon  left. 
John  walked  up,  shook  hands,  and  took  a chair  near 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  299 


him,  holding  in  his  hand  some  papers  referring  to 
minor  appointments  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  which  formed 
the  subject  of  conversation.  Mr.  Lincoln  took  the 
papers,  said  he  would  refer  them  to  the  proper  heads 
of  departments,  and  would  be  glad  to  make  the  ap- 
pointments asked  for,  if  not  already  pi’omised.  John 
then  turned  to  me,  and  said,  ‘ Mr.  President,  this  is 
my  brother,  Colonel  Sherman,  who  is  just  up  from 
Louisiana;  he  may  give  you  some  information  you 
want.’  4 Ah ! ’ said  Mr.  Lincoln,  4 how  are  they  getting 
along  down  there?  ’ I said,  4 They  think  they  are 
getting  along  swimmingly  — they  are  preparing  for 
war.’  4 Oh,  well ! ’ said  he,  4 1 guess  we  ’ll  manage  to 
keep  house.’  I was  silenced,  said  no  more  to  him,  and 
we  soon  left.  I was  sadly  disappointed,  and  remember 
that  I broke  out  on  John,  cursing  the  politicians 

generally,  saying,  4 You  have  got  things  in  a of 

a fix,  and  you  may  get  them  out  as  best  you  can,’ 
adding  that  the  country  was  sleeping  on  a volcano 
that  might  burst  forth  at  any  minute,  but  that  I was 
going  to  St.  Louis  to  take  care  of  my  family,  and 
would  have  no  more  to  do  with  it.  John  begged  me 
to  be  more  patient,  but  I said  I would  not ; that  I had 
no  time  to  wait,  that  I was  off  for  St.  Louis;  and  off 
I went.” 

The  apartment  which  Lincoln  used  as  an  office  in 
which  to  transact  daily  business  and  to  receive  in- 
formal visits  was  on  the  second  floor  of  the  White 
House.  Its  simple  equipments  are  thus  described  by 
Mr.  Arnold : 44  It  was  about  twenty-five  by  forty  feet 
in  size.  In  the  centre,  on  the  west,  was  a large  white 
marble  fireplace,  with  big  old-fashioned  brass  and- 
irons, and  a large  and  high  brass  fender.  A wood 
fire  was  burning  in  cool  weather.  The  large  windows 
opened  on  the  beautiful  lawn  to  the  south,  with  a view 
of  the  unfinished  Washington  Monument,  the  Smith- 


300  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


sonian  Institution,  the  Potomac,  Alexandria,  and  on 
down  the  river  toward  Mt.  Vernon.  Across  the  Poto- 
mac were  Arlington  Heights  and  Arlington  House,  late 
the  residence  of  Robert  E.  Lee.  On  the  hills  around, 
during  nearly  all  Lincoln’s  administration,  were  the 
white  tents  of  soldiers,  field  fortifications  and  camps, 
and  in  every  direction  could  be  seen  the  brilliant  colors 
of  the  national  flag.  The  furniture  of  this  room 
consisted  of  a large  oak  table  covered  with  cloth,  ex- 
tending north  and  south ; and  it  was  around  this  table 
that  the  Cabinet  sat  when  it  held  its  meetings.  Near 
the  end  of  the  table,  and  between  the  windows,  was 
another  table,  on  the  west  side  of  which  the  President 
sat  in  a large  armchair,  and  at  this  table  he  wrote. 
A tall  desk  with  pigeon-holes  for  papers  stood  against 
the  south  wall.  The  only  books  usually  found  in 
this  room  were  the  Bible,  the  United  States  Statutes, 
and  a copy  of  Shakespeare.  There  were  a few  chairs 
and  two  plain  hair-covered  sofas.  There  were  two  or 
three  map  frames,  from  which  hung  military  maps  on 
which  the  position  and  movements  of  the  armies  were 
traced.  On  the  mantel  was  an  old  and  discolored 
engraving  of  General  Jackson  and  a later  photograph 
of  John  Bright.  Doors  opened  into  this  room  from 
the  room  of  the  Secretary,  and  from  the  outside  hall 
running  east  and  west  across  the  House.  A bell  cord 
within  reach  of  his  hand  extended  to  the  Secretary’s 
office.  A messenger  who  stood  at  the  door  opening 
from  the  hall  took  in  the  cards  and  names  of  visitors. 
Here,  in  this  plain  room,  Lincoln  spent  most  of  his 
time  while  President.  Here  he  received  everyone,  from 
the  Chief  Justice  and  Lieutenant-General  to  the  pri- 
vate soldier  and  humblest  citizen.  Custom  had  fixed 
certain  rules  of  precedence,  and  the  order  in  which 
officials  should  be  received.  Members  of  the  Cabinet 
and  the  high  officers  of  the  army  and  navy  were  gener- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  301 


ally  promptly  admitted.  Senators  and  members  of 
Congress  were  received  in  the  order  of  their  arrival. 
Sometimes  there  would  be  a crowd  of  them  waiting 
their  turn.  While  thus  waiting,  the  loud  ringing 
laugh  of  Mr.  Lincoln  would  be  heard  by  the  waiting 
and  impatient  crowd.  Here,  day  after  day,  often 
from  early  morning  to  late  at  night,  Lincoln  sat, 
listened,  talked,  and  decided.  He  was  patient,  just, 
considerate,  and  hopeful.  The  people  came  to  him  as 
to  a father.  He  saw  everyone,  and  many  wasted 
his  precious  time.  Governors,  Senators,  Congressmen, 
officers,  clergymen,  bankers,  merchants  — all  classes 
approached  him  with  familiarity.  This  incessant 
labor,  the  study  of  the  great  problems  he  had  to 
decide,  the  worry  of  constant  importunity,  the  quarrels 
of  officers  of  the  army,  the  care,  anxiety,  and  re- 
sponsibility of  his  position,  wore  upon  his  vigorous 
frame.” 

Mr.  Ben.  Perley  Poore  states  that  “ the  White 
House,  while  Mr.  Lincoln  occupied  it,  was  a fertile  field 
for  news,  which  he  was  always  ready  to  give  those 
correspondents  in  whom  he  had  confidence ; but  the 
surveillance  of  the  press  — first  by  Secretary  Seward, 
and  then  by  Secretary  Stanton  — was  as  annoying 
as  it  was  inefficient.  . . . Often  when  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
engaged,  correspondents  would  send  in  their  cards, 
bearing  requests  for  some  desired  item  of  news  or  for 
the  verification  of  some  rumor.  He  would  either  come 
out  and  give  the  coveted  information,  or  he  would 
write  it  on  the  back  of  the  card  and  send  it  to  the 
owner.  He  wrote  a legible  hand,  slowly  and  laboriously 
perfecting  his  sentences  before  he  placed  them  on 
paper.  The  long  epistles  that  he  wrote  to  his  gen- 
erals he  copied  himself,  not  wishing  anyone  else  to  see 
them,  and  these  copies  were  kept  in  pigeon-holes  for 
reference.  . . . Mr.  Lincoln  used  to  wear  at  the  White 


302  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


House  in  the  morning,  and  after  dinner,  a long-skirted 
faded  dressing-gown,  belted  around  his  waist,  and 
slippers.  His  favorite  attitude  when  listening  — and 
he  was  a good  listener  — was  to  lean  forward,  and 
clasp  his  left  knee  with  both  hands,  as  if  fondling  it, 
and  his  face  would  then  wear  a sad  and  wearied  look. 
But  when  the  time  came  for  him  to  give  an  opinion 
on  what  he  had  heard,  or  to  tell  a story  which  some- 
thing ‘ reminded  him  of,’  his  face  would  lighten  up 
with  its  homely,  rugged  smile,  and  he  would  run  his 
fingers  through  his  bristly  black  hair,  which  would 
stand  out  in  every  direction  like  that  of  an  electric 
experiment  doll.” 

John  G.  Nicolay,  afterward  Lincoln’s  private  secre- 
tary, says : “ The  people  beheld  in  the  new  President 
a man  six  feet  four  inches  in  height,  a stature  which 
of  itself  would  be  hailed  in  any  assemblage  as  one  of 
the  outward  signs  of  leadership;  joined  to  this  was  a 
spare  but  muscular  frame,  and  large  strongly-marked 
features  corresponding  to  his  unusual  stature.  Quiet 
in  demeanor  but  erect  in  bearing,  his  face  even  in  re- 
pose was  not  unattractive ; and  when  lit  up  by  his 
open,  genial  smile,  or  illuminated  in  the  utterance  of 
a strong  or  stirring  thought,  his  countenance  was  posi- 
tively handsome.  His  voice,  pitched  in  rather  a high 
key,  but  of  great  clearness  and  penetration,  made  his 
public  remarks  audible  to  a wide  circle  of  listeners.” 

Henry  Champion  Deming  says  of  Lincoln’s  appear- 
ance at  this  time:  “ Conceive  a tall  and  giant  figure, 
more  than  six  feet  in  height,  not  only  unencumbered 
with  superfluous  flesh,  but  reduced  to  the  minimum 
working  standard  of  cord  and  sinew  and  muscle,  strong 
and  indurated  by  exposure  and  toil,  with  legs  and 
arms  long  and  attenuated,  but  not  dispi’oportionately 
to  the  long  and  attenuated  trunk;  in  posture  and  car- 
riage not  ungraceful,  but  with  the  grace  of  unstudied 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  303 


and  careless  ease  rather  than  of  cultivated  airs  and 
high-bred  pretensions.  His  dress  is  uniformly  of  black 
throughout,  and  would  attract  but  little  attention  in 
a well-dressed  circle,  if  it  hung  less  loosely  upon  him, 
and  if  the  ample  white  shirt  collar  were  not  turned 
over  his  cravat  in  Western  style.  The  face  that  sur- 
mounts this  figure  is  half  Roman  and  half  Indian, 
bronzed  by  climate,  furrowed  by  life  struggles,  seamed 
with  humor ; the  head  is  massive  and  covered  with 
dark,  thick,  and  unmanageable  hair;  the  brow  is  wide 
and  well  developed,  the  nose  large  and  fleshy,  the  lips 
full,  cheeks  thin  and  drawn  down  in  strong,  corded 
lines,  which,  but  for  the  wiry  whiskers,  would  disclose 
the  machinery  which  moves  the  broad  jaw.  The  eyes 
are  dark  gray,  sunk  in  deep  sockets,  but  bright,  soft 
and  beautiful  in  expression,  sometimes  lost  and  half 
abstracted,  as  if  their  glance  was  reversed  and  turned 
inward,  or  as  if  the  soul  which  lighted  them  was  far 
away.  The  teeth  are  white  and  regular,  and  it  is  only 
when  a smile,  radiant,  captivating,  and  winning  as  was 
ever  given  to  mortal,  transfigures  the  plain  counte- 
nance, that  you  begin  to  realize  that  it  is  not  impos- 
sible for  artists  to  admire  and  women  to  love  it.” 

Mr.  John  Bigelow,  who  was  appointed  consul  to 
Paris  in  1861,  and  was  afterwards  minister  to  France, 
describes  in  his  “ Retrospections  of  an  Active  Life  ” 
his  first  visit  to  Lincoln  and  the  impressions  gained  by 
him  at  that  early  period  in  Lincoln’s  official  career. 
“ The  day  following  my  arrival  in  Washington  Pres- 
ton King,  Senator  from  New  York,  invited  me  to  go 
with  him  to  be  presented  to  President  Lincoln,  an 
invitation  which  of  course  I embraced  with  alacrity; 
for  as  yet  I had  not  met  him,  and  knew  him  only  by  his 
famous  senatorial  campaign  against  Douglas  in  Illi- 
nois and  the  masterly  address  which  he  delivered  at 
the  Cooper  Institute  shortly  before  his  nomination  in 


304  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


New  York.  . . . The  new  President  received  us  in  his 
private  room  at  an  early  hour  of  the  morning;  another 
gentleman  was  with  him  at  the  time,  a member  of  the 
Senate,  I believe.  We  were  with  him  from  a half  to 
three-quarters  of  an  hour.  The  conversation,  in  which 
I took  little  or  no  part,  turned  upon  the  operations  in 
the  field.  I observed  no  sign  of  weakness  in  anything 
the  President  said;  neither  did  I hear  anything  that 
particularly  impressed  me,  which,  under  the  circum- 
stances, was  not  surprising.  What  did  impress  me, 
however,  was  what  I can  only  describe  as  a certain 
lack  of  sovereignty.  He  seemed  to  me,  nor  was  it  in 
the  least  strange  that  he  did,  like  a man  utterly  un- 
conscious of  the  space  which  the  President  of  the 
United  States  occupied  that  day  in  the  history  of  the 
human  race,  and  of  the  vast  power  for  the  exercise 
of  which  he  had  become  personally  responsible.  This 
impression  was  strengthened  by  Mr.  Lincoln’s  modest 
habit  of  disclaiming  knowledge  of  affairs  and  familiar- 
ity with  duties,  and  frequent  avowals  of  ignorance, 
which,  even  where  it  exists,  it  is  as  well  for  a captain 
as  far  as  possible  to  conceal  from  the  public.  The 
authority  of  an  executive  officer  largely  consists  in 
what  his  constituents  think  it  is.  Up  to  that  time 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  had  few  opportunities  of  showing  the 
nation  the  qualities  which  won  all  hearts  and  made  him 
one  of  the  most  consjdcuous  and  enduring  historic 
characters  of  the  century.” 

Some  uncommonly  vivid  “ first  impressions  ” of  Lin- 
coln are  given  in  the  Journals  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emer- 
son, who  early  in  February  of  1862  made  a visit  to 
Washington  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  a lecture 
before  the  Smithsonian  Institution  — a lecture  which 
Lincoln  is  said  to  have  attended.  A day  or  two 
afterwards  Emerson  was  taken  by  Senator  Sumner 
of  Massachusetts  to  call  at  the  White  House.  “ The 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  305 


President  impressed  me,”  says  Emerson,  “ more  favor- 
ably than  I had  hoped.  A frank,  sincere,  well-meaning 
man,  with  a lawyer’s  habit  of  mind,  good  clear  state- 
ment of  his  facts ; correct  enough,  not  vulgar,  as 
described,  but  with  a sort  of  boyish  cheerfulness,  or 
that  kind  of  sincerity  and  jolly  good  meaning  that 
our  class-meetings  on  Commencement  Days  show,  in 
telling  our  old  stories  over.  When  he  has  made  his 
remark  he  looks  up  at  you  with  great  satisfaction,  and 
shows  all  his  white  teeth,  and  laughs.  . . . When  I 
was  introduced  to  him  he  said,  ‘ Oh,  Mr.  Emerson,  I 
once  heard  you  say  in  a lecture  that  a Kentuckian 
seems  to  say  by  his  air  and  manners,  “ Here  am  I ; 
if  you  don’t  like  me,  the  worse  for  you.”  ’ ” (The 
point  of  this  of  course  is  that  Lincoln  was  himself  a 
Kentuckian.)  A day  or  two  later  Emerson  again  called 
on  the  President,  this  time  in  the  company  of  Secre- 
tary Seward.  It  being  Sunday  evening,  Seward  asked 
the  President  if  he  had  been  to  church,  to  which  the 
latter  answered  that  he  had  not  — that  he  had  been 
reading,  for  the  first  time,  Senator  Sumner’s  speech 
in  the  Senate  on  the  Trent  affair.  This  was  followed 
by  some  general  conversation  on  the  Trent  affair,  in 
which  the  President  expressed  his  gratification  at  the 
friendly  attitude  taken  in  the  matter  by  France  and 
Spain. 

Private  Secretary  Hay  thus  writes  of  Lincoln’s 
character  and  disposition : “ All  agree  that  the  most 
marked  characteristic  of  Mr.  Lincoln’s  manners  was 
his  simplicity  and  artlessness ; this  immediately  im- 
pressed itself  upon  the  observation  of  those  who  met 
him  for  the  first  time,  and  each  successive  interview 
deepened  the  impression.  People  seemed  delighted  to 
find  in  the  ruler  of  the  nation  freedom  from  pomposity 
and  affectation,  mingled  with  a certain  simple  dignity 
which  never  forsook  him.  Though  oppressed  with  the 


306  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


weight  of  responsibility  resting  upon  him  as  President 
of  the  United  States,  he  shrank  from  assuming  any 
of  the  honors,  or  even  the  titles,  of  the  position.  After 
years  of  intimate  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  the 
writer  cannot  now  recall  a single  instance  in  which 
he  spoke  of  himself  as  President,  or  used  that  title 
for  himself  except  when  acting  in  an  official  capacity. 
He  always  spoke  of  his  position  and  office  vaguely,  as, 
4 this  place,’  ‘ here,’  or  other  modest  phrase.  Once, 
speaking  of  the  room  in  the  Capitol  used  by  the  Presi- 
dents of  the  United  States  during  the  close  of  a session 
of  Congress,  he  said,  4 That  room,  you  know,  that  they 
call  ’ — dropping  his  voice  and  hesitating  — 4 the 
President’s  room.’  To  an  intimate  friend  who  ad- 
dressed him  always  by  his  own  proper  title,  he  said, 
‘ Now  call  me  Lincoln,  and  I ’ll  promise  not  to  tell  of 
the  breach  of  etiquette  — if  you  won’t  — and  I shall 
have  a resting-spell  from  44  Mister  President.”  ’ With 
all  his  simplicity  and  unacquaintance  with  courtly  man- 
ners, his  native  dignity  never  forsook  him  in  the  pres- 
ence of  critical  polished  strangers ; but  mixed  with 
his  angularities  and  bonhomie  was  something  which 
spoke  the  fine  fiber  of  the  man ; and  while  his  sovereign 
disregard  of  courtly  conventionalities  was  somewhat 
ludicrous,  his  native  sweetness  and  straightforwardness 
of  manner  served  to  disarm  criticism  and  impress  the 
visitor  that  he  was  before  a man  pure,  self-poised, 
collected,  and  strong  in  unconscious  strength.  Of 
him,  an  accomplished  foreigner,  whose  knowledge  of 
the  courts  was  more  perfect  than  that  of  the  English 
language,  said,  4 He  seems  to  me  one  grand  gentilhomme 
in  disguise.’  ” Mr.  Hay  adds  that  Lincoln’s  sim- 
plicity of  manner  44  was  marked  in  his  total  lack  of 
consideration  of  what  was  due  his  exalted  station.  He 
had  an  almost  morbid  dread  of  what  he  called  4 a scene  ’ 
— that  is,  a demonstration  of  applause,  such  as  always 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  307 


greeted  his  appearance  in  public.  The  first  sign  of  a 
cheer  sobered  him;  he  appeared  sad  and  oppressed, 
suspended  conversation,  and  looked  out  into  vacancy ; 
and  when  it  was  over,  resumed  the  conversation  just 
where  it  was  interrupted,  with  an  obvious  feeling  of 
relief.  . . . Speaking  of  an  early  acquaintance  who  was 
an  applicant  for  an  office  which  he  thought  him  hardly 
qualified  to  fill,  the  President  said,  ‘ Well,  now,  I never 

thought  M had  any  more  than  average  ability, 

when  we  were  young  men  together ; really  I did  not.’ 
[A  pause.]  ‘ But,  then,  I suppose  he  thought  just  the 
same  about  me ; he  had  reason  to,  and  — here  I am  ! ’ ” 

General  Carl  Schurz  says : “ In  the  White  House,  as 
in  his  simple  home  in  Springfield,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  the 
same  plain,  unaffected,  unpretentious  citizen.  Lie  won 
the  admiration  and  affection  of  even  the  most  punc- 
tilious of  the  foreign  diplomats  by  the  tenderness  of 
his  nature  and  the  touching  simplicity  of  his  demeanor. 
. . . He  was,  in  mind  and  heart,  the  very  highest 
type  of  development  of  a plain  man.  He  was  a born 
leader  of  men,  and  the  qualities  that  made  him  a 
leader  were  of  the  plain,  common-sense  type.  . . . Lin- 
coln had  one  great  advantage  over  all  the  chief  states- 
men of  his  day.  He  had  a thorough  knowledge  of 
the  plain  people.  He  knew  their  habits,  their  modes 
of  thought,  their  unfailing  sense  of  justice  and  right. 
He  relied  upon  the  popular  feeling,  in  great  measure, 
for  his  guidance.” 

Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  said  of  the  qualities 
which  Lincoln  exhibited  in  the  White  House : “ Lin- 
coln is  a strong  man,  but  his  strength  is  of  a peculiar 
kind;  it  is  not  aggressive  so  much  as  passive;  and 
among  passive  things,  it  is  like  the  strength  not  so 
much  of  a stone  buttress  as  of  a wire  cable.  It  is 
strength  swaying  to  every  influence,  yielding  on  this 
side  and  on  that,  to  popular  needs,  yet  tenaciously 


308  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


and  inflexibly  bound  to  carry  its  great  end.  . . . Slow 
and  careful  in  coming  to  resolutions,  willing  to  talk 
with  every  person  who  has  anything  to  show  on  any 
side  of  a disputed  subject,  long  in  weighing  and  pon- 
dering, attached  to  constitutional  limits  and  time- 
honored  landmarks,  Lincoln  certainly  was  the  safest 
leader  a nation  could  have  at  a time  when  the  habeas 
corpus  must  be  suspended  and  all  the  constitutional 
and  minor  rights  of  citizens  be  thrown  into  the  hands 
of  their  military  leader.  A reckless,  bold,  theorizing, 
dashing  man  of  genius  might  have  wrecked  our 
Constitution  and  ended  us  in  a splendid  military 
despotism.” 

The  fear  lest  the  virulent  enemies  of  the  adminis- 
tration should  attempt  to  assassinate  Lincoln  was  so 
wide-spread  that  military  measures  were  enforced  to 
protect  him  from  secret  assault.  General  Charles  P. 
Stone,  to  whom  the  duty  was  entrusted  of  establishing 
the  necessary  precautions,  has  furnished  a brief  report 
on  the  subject.  “From  the  first,”  says  General  Stone, 
“ I took,  under  the  orders  of  the  General-in-chief,  es- 
pecial care  in  guarding  the  Executive  Mansion  — with- 
out, however,  doing  it  so  ostentatiously  as  to  attract 
public  attention.  It  was  not  considered  advisable  that 
it  should  appear  that  the  President  of  the  United 
States  was,  for  his  personal  safety,  obliged  to  sur- 
round himself  by  armed  guards.  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
not  consulted  in  the  matter.  But  Captain  Todd, 
formerly  an  officer  of  the  regular  army,  who  was,  I 
believe,  the  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  was  then 
residing  in  the  Presidential  Mansion,  and  with  him  I 
was  daily  and  nightly  in  communication,  in  order  that 
in  case  of  danger  one  person  in  the  President’s  house- 
hold should  know  where  to  find  the  main  body  of  the 
guard,  to  the  officer  commanding  which  Captain  Todd 
was  each  night  introduced.  Double  sentries  were 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  309 


placed  in  the  shrubbery  all  around  the  mansion,  and 
the  main  body  of  the  guard  was  posted  in  a vacant 
basement-room,  from  which  a staircase  led  to  the 
upper  floors.  A person  entering  by  the  main  gate  and 
walking  up  to  the  front  door  of  the  Executive  Man- 
sion during  the  night  could  see  no  sign  of  a guard; 
but  from  the  moment  anyone  entered  the  grounds  by 
any  entrance,  he  was  under  the  view  of  at  least  two 
riflemen  standing  silent  in  the  shrubbery,  and  any 
suspicious  movement  on  his  part  would  have  caused 
his  immediate  arrest ; while  inside,  the  call  of  Cap- 
tain Todd  would  have  been  promptly  answered  by 
armed  men.  The  precautions  were  taken  before  Fort 
Sumter  was  fired  on,  as  well  as  afterward.  One  night 
near  midnight,”  continues  General  Stone,  “ I entered 
the  grounds  for  the  purpose  of  inspecting  the  guard, 
and  was  surprised  to  see  a bright  light  in  the  East 
room.  As  I entered  the  basement  I heard  a loud 
noise,  as  of  many  voices  talking  loudly,  mingled  with 
the  ringing  of  arms,  coming  from  the  great  reception 
room.  On  questioning  the  commander  of  the  guard, 
I learned  that  many  gentlemen  had  entered  the  house 
at  a late  hour,  but  they  had  come  in  boldty;  no  objec- 
tion had  been  made  from  within,  but  on  the  contrary 
Captain  Todd  had  told  him  all  was  right.  I ascended 
the  interior  staircase  and  entered  the  East  room,  where 
I found  more  than  fifty  men,  among  whom  were  Hon. 
Cassius  M.  Clay  and  General  Lane.  All  were  armed 
with  muskets,  which  they  were  generally  examining, 
and  it  was  the  ringing  of  many  rammers  in  the  musket 
barrels  which  had  caused  the  noise  I had  heard.  Mr. 
Clay  informed  me  that  he  and  a large  number  of  politi- 
cal friends,  deeming  it  very  improper  that  the  Presi- 
dent's person  should  in  such  times  he  unguarded,  had 
formed  a voluntary  guard  which  would  remain  there 
every  night  and  see  to  it  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  well 


310  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


protected.  I applauded  the  good  spirit  exhibited,  but 
did  not,  however,  cease  the  posting  of  the  outside 
guards,  nor  the  nightly  inspections  myself  as  before, 
until  the  time  came  when  others  than  myself  became 
responsible  for  the  safety  of  the  President.” 

It  is  stated  that  Lincoln  “ had  an  almost  morbid 
dislike  to  an  escort,  or  guard,  and  daily  exposed  him- 
self to  the  deadly  aim  of  an  assassin.”  To  the  remon- 
strances of  friends,  who  feared  his  constant  exposure  to 
danger,  he  had  but  one  answer : “ If  they  kill  me,  the 
next  man  will  be  just  as  bad  for  them;  and  in  a 
country  like  this,  where  our  habits  are  simple,  and 
must  be,  assassination  is  always  possible,  and  will 
come  if  they  are  determined  upon  it.”  A cavalry 
guard  was  once  placed  at  the  gates  of  the  White  House 
for  a while,  and  Lincoln  said  that  he  “ worried  until 
he  got  rid  of  it.”  He  once  remarked  to  Colonel  Hal- 
pine:  “It  would  never  do  for  a President  to  have 
guards  with  drawn  sabers  at  his  door,  as  if  he  fancied 
he  were,  or  were  trying  to  be,  or  were  assuming  to  be, 
an  emperor.”  While  the  President’s  family  were  at 
their  summer-house,  near  Washington,  he  rode  into 
town  of  a morning,  or  out  at  night,  attended  by  a 
mounted  escort ; but  if  he  returned  to  town  for  a 
while  after  dark,  he  rode  in  unguarded,  and  often 
alone,  in  his  open  carriage.  On  more  than  one  occa- 
sion, the  same  writer  tells  us,  he  “ has  gone  through 
the  streets  of  Washington  at  a late  hour  of  the  night 
with  the  President,  without  escort,  or  even  the  company 
of  a servant,  walking  all  the  way,  going  and  returning. 
Considering  the  many  open  and  secret  threats  to  take 
his  life,  it  is  not  surprising  that  Lincoln  had  many 
thoughts  about  his  coming  to  a sudden  and  violent 
end.  He  once  said  that  he  felt  the  force  of  the  expres- 
sion, ‘ To  take  one’s  life  in  his  hand  ’ ; but  that  he 
would  not  like  to  face  death  suddenly.  He  said  that 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  311 


he  thought  himself  a great  coward  physically,  and 
was  sure  that  he  would  make  a poor  soldier,  for  unless 
there  was  something  inspiriting  in  the  excitement  of 
a battle  he  was  sure  that  he  would  drop  his  gun  and 
run  at  the  first  symptom  of  danger.  That  was  said 
sportively,  and  he  added,  ‘ Moral  cowardice  is  some- 
thing which  I think  I never  had.’  ” 


CHAPTER  XVI 


Civil  War  — Uprising  of  the  Nation  — The  President’s  First  Call  for 
Troops  — Response  of  the  Loyal  North  — The  Riots  in  Baltimore 
— Loyalty  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  — Douglas’s  Death  — Blockade 
of  Southern  Ports  — Additional  War  Measures  — Lincoln  Defines 
the  Policy  of  the  Government  — His  Conciliatory  Course  — His 
Desire  to  Save  Kentucky  — The  President’s  First  Message  to  Con- 
gress — Gathering  of  Troops  in  Washington  — Reviews  and  Parades 
— Disaster  at  Bull  Run  — The  President  Visits  the  Army  — Good 
Advice  to  an  Angry  Officer  — A Peculiar  Cabinet  Meeting  — Dark 
Days  for  Lincoln  — A “Black  Mood"  in  the  White  House  — Lin- 
coln’s Unfaltering  Courage  — Relief  in  Story-telling  — A Pretty 
Good  Land  Title  — “Measuring  up”  with  Charles  Sumner  — Gen- 
eral Scott  “Unable  as  a Politician”  — A Good  Drawing-plaster  — 
The  New  York  Millionaires  who  Wanted  a Gunboat  — A Good 
Bridge-builder  — A Sick  Lot  of  Office-seekers. 


HE  Confederate  attack  upon  Fort  Sumter  — a 


United  States  fort  situated  at  the  mouth  of 


Charleston  Harbor,  South  Carolina  — April  12,  1861, 
was  the  signal  that  civil  war  had  actually  begun.  Lin- 
coln had  thus  far  maintained  a conciliatory  policy 
toward  the  States  in  rebellion,  hoping  to  the  last  that 
good  sense  and  reason  prevailing  over  rash  and  violent 
impulses  would  induce  them  to  resume  their  allegiance 
to  the  Government.  Their  resort  to  arms  and  capture 
of  forts  and  property  of  the  United  States  decided 
the  course  of  the  administration;  and  on  the  15th  of 
April  — forty-two  days  after  his  accession  to  the 
Presidency  — Lincoln  issued  a proclamation  asking 
for  the  immediate  enlistment  of  75,000  volunteers,1 

1 This  first  call  for  troops  was  supplemented  a month  later  (May  16) 
by  a call  for  42,034  volunteers  for  three  years,  for  22,114  officers  and 
men  for  the  regular  army,  and  18,000  seamen  for  the  navy. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  313 


and  summoning  Congress  to  convene  in  an  extra  ses- 
sion on  the  4th  of  July.  The  call  was  sent  forth 
in  the  following  form : 

PROCLAMATION. 

By  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

Whereas,  the  laws  of  the  United  States  have  been 
for  some  time  past  and  now  are  opposed  and  the 
execution  thereof  obstructed  in  the  States  of  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Florida,  Mississippi, 
Louisiana  and  Texas,  by  combinations  too  powerful 
to  be  suppressed  by  the  ordinary  course  of  judicial 
proceedings,  or  by  the  powers  vested  in  the  marshals 
by  law;  now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  in  virtue  of  the  power  in 
me  vested  by  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  have 
thought  fit  to  call  forth,  and  hereby  do  call  forth,  the 
militia  of  the  several  States  of  the  Union,  to  the  aggre- 
gate number  of  seventy-five  thousand,  in  order  to  sup- 
press said  combinations  and  to  cause  the  laws  to  be 
duly  executed. 

The  details  of  this  object  will  be  immediately  com- 
municated to  the  State  authorities  through  the  War 
Department.  I appeal  to  all  loyal  citizens  to  favor, 
facilitate,  and  aid  this  effort  to  maintain  the  honor, 
the  integrity  and  existence  of  our  National  Union,  and 
the  perpetuity  of  popular  government,  and  to  redress 
wrongs  already  long  enough  endured.  I deem  it  proper 
to  say  that  the  first  service  assigned  to  the  forces 
hereby  called  forth  will  probably  be  to  repossess  the 
forts,  places,  and  property  which  have  been  seized  from 
the  Union;  and  in  every  event  the  utmost  care  will 
be  observed,  consistently  with  the  objects  aforesaid,  to 
avoid  any  devastation,  any  destruction  of,  or  inter- 
ference with,  property,  or  any  disturbance  of  peaceful 
citizens  of  any  part  of  the  country;  and  I hereby 
command  the  persons  composing  the  combinations 


314  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


aforesaid  to  disperse  and  retire  peaceably  to  their 
respective  abodes,  within  twenty  days  from  this  date. 

Deeming  that  the  present  condition  of  public  affairs 
presents  an  extraordinary  occasion,  I do  hereby,  in  vir- 
tue of  the  power  in  me  vested  by  the  Constitution,  con- 
vene both  Houses  of  Congress.  The  Senators  and 
Representatives  are,  therefore,  summoned  to  assemble 
at  their  respective  chambers,  at  twelve  o’clock,  noon,  on 
Thursday,  the  fourth  day  of  July  next,  then  and 
there  to  consider  and  determine  such  measures  as,  in 
their  wisdom,  the  public  safety  and  interest  may  seem 
to  demand. 

In  witness  whereof  I have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  fifteenth  day 
of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-one,  and  of  the  independence  of 
the  United  States  the  eighty-fifth. 

By  the  President,  Abraham  Lincoln. 

William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State. 

The  issue  of  this  proclamation  created  the  wildest 
enthusiasm  throughout  the  North.  Scarcely  a voice 
was  raised  against  it,  as  it  was  seen  to  be  a measure 
of  absolute  necessity  and  of  self-defense  on  the  part 
of  the  Government.  “ Every  Northern  State,”  says 
Mr.  Henry  I.  Raymond,  “ responded  promptly  to  the 
President’s  demand,  and  from  private  persons,  as  well 
as  by  the  Legislatures,  men,  arms,  and  money  were 
offered  in  unstinted  profusion,  and  with  the  most 
zealous  alacrity,  in  support  of  the  Government. 
Massachusetts  was  first  in  the  field,  and  on  the  first 
day  after  the  issue  of  the  proclamation  her  Sixth 
regiment,  completely  equipped,  started  from  Boston 
for  the  national  capital.  Two  more  regiments  were 
also  made  ready,  and  took  their  departure  within 
forty-eight  hours.” 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  315 


The  Sixth  Massachusetts  regiment  was  attacked  on 
its  way  to  Washington,  on  the  19th  of  April,  by  a mob 
in  Baltimore,  carrying  a Confederate  flag,  and  several 
of  its  members  were  killed  or  severely  wounded.  “ This,” 
continues  Mr.  Raymond,  “ inflamed  to  a still  higher 
point  the  excitement  which  already  pervaded  the  coun- 
try. The  whole  Northern  section  of  the  Union  felt 
outraged  that  troops  should  be  assailed  and  murdered 
on  their  way  to  protect  the  capital  of  the  nation. 
In  Maryland,  where  the  secession  party  was  strong, 
there  was  also  great  excitement,  and  the  Governor 
of  the  State  and  the  Mayor  of  Baltimore  united  in 
urging,  for  prudential  reasons,  that  no  more  troops 
should  be  brought  through  that  city.”  In  answer  to 
the  remonstrances  of  Governor  Hicks  and  a com- 
mittee from  Mai’yland,  who  presented  their  petition 
in  person,  Lincoln,  intent  on  avoiding  every  cause  of 
offense,  and  with  a forbearance  that  now  seems  in- 
credible, replied:  “ Troops  must  be  brought  here;  but 
I make  no  point  of  bringing  them  through  Baltimore. 
Without  any  military  knowledge  myself,  of  course  I 
must  leave  details  to  General  Scott.  He  hastily  said 
this  morning,  in  the  presence  of  these  gentlemen, 
‘ March  them  around  Baltimore,  and  not  through  it.’ 
I sincerely  hope  the  General,  on  fuller  reflection,  will 
consider  this  practical  and  proper,  and  that  you  will 
not  object  to  it.  By  this,  a collision  of  the  people 
of  Baltimore  with  the  troops  will  be  avoided,  unless 
they  go  out  of  their  way  to  seek  it.  I hope  you  will 
exert  your  influence  to  prevent  this.  Now  and  ever, 
I shall  do  all  in  my  power  for  peace,  consistently  with 
the  maintenance  of  the  Government.” 

One  of  the  most  encouraging  incidents  of  this  open- 
ing chapter  of  the  war  was  the  announcement  that 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  the  great  leader  of  the  Democracy 
and  the  life-long  political  opponent  of  Lincoln,  had 


316  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


declared  his  purpose  to  stand  by  the  Government. 
The  effect  of  this  action,  at  this  crisis,  was  most  salu- 
tary; it  ranged  the  Northern  Democrats  with  the  de- 
fenders of  the  Union,  and  gave  Lincoln  a united  North 
as  the  act  of  no  other  individual  could  have  done. 
From  that  time  until  his  death  Douglas  never  faltered 
in  his  loyalty,  and  stood  by  the  Government  with  a 
zeal  and  patriotism  which  were  above  all  lower  con- 
siderations of  person  or  of  party.  On  Sunday,  the 
14th  of  April,  when  Washington  was  thrilling  with 
excitement  over  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter,  Douglas  called 
on  the  President  and  after  a brief  conversation  author- 
ized a statement  to  be  telegraphed  throughout  the 
country  that  he  was  “ fully  prepared  to  sustain  the 
President  in  the  exercise  of  all  his  Constitutional  func- 
tions, to  preserve  the  Union,  maintain  the  Govern- 
ment, and  defend  the  Federal  capital.  A firm  policy 
and  prompt  action  were  necessary.  The  capital  was 
in  danger,  and  must  be  defended  at  all  hazards,  and 
at  any  expense  of  men  and  money.”  Faithful  to  his 
pledge,  Douglas  immediately  set  out  upon  a tour 
through  the  Northwest,  to  strengthen,  by  his  words 
and  presence,  the  spirit  of  loyalty  among  the  people. 
He  made  a series  of  eloquent  speeches  on  his  journey 
to  Chicago,  where  he  arrived  worn  and  spent  with  the 
fatigue  and  excitement  of  his  undertaking.  It  was 
the  last  and  noblest  service  of  his  life.  Illness  ensued, 
and  after  a few  weeks  of  suffering  he  passed  away, 
June  3,  at  the  age  of  forty-eight.  His  death  was  an 
irreparable  loss,  mourned  by  the  President  and  the 
nation. 

The  President’s  call  for  troops  was  succeeded  on  the 
19th  of  April  by  a proclamation  declaring  a blockade 
of  Southern  ports.  The  text  of  this  document  is 
historically  important,  as  definitely  formulating  the 
attitude  and  policy  of  the  Government. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  317 


Whereas,  An  insurrection  against  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  has  broken  out  in  the  States  of 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Florida,  Missis- 
sippi, Louisiana,  and  Texas,  and  the  laws  of  the 
United  States  for  the  collection  of  the  revenue  cannot 
be  efficiently  executed  therein,  conformably  to  that 
provision  of  the  Constitution  which  requires  duties  to 
be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States: 

And  whereas,  A combination  of  persons,  engaged  in 
such  insurrection,  have  threatened  to  grant  pretended 
letters  of  marque  to  authorize  the  bearers  thereof  to 
commit  assaults  on  the  lives,  vessels,  and  property  of 
good  citizens  of  the  country  lawfully  engaged  in  com- 
merce on  the  high  seas,  and  in  waters  of  the  United 
States : 

And  whereas.  An  Executive  Proclamation  has  al- 
ready been  issued,  requiring  the  persons  engaged  in 
these  disorderly  proceedings  to  desist  therefrom, 
calling  out  a militia  force  for  the  purpose  of 
repressing  the  same,  and  convening  Congress  in 
extraordinary  session  to  deliberate  and  determine 
thereon : 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of 
the  United  States,  with  a view  to  the  same  purposes 
before  mentioned,  and  to  the  protection  of  the  public 
peace,  and  the  lives  and  property  of  quiet  and  orderly 
citizens  pursuing  their  lawful  occupations,  until  Con- 
gress shall  have  assembled  and  deliberated  on  the  said 
unlawful  proceedings,  or  until  the  same  shall  have 
ceased,  have  further  deemed  it  advisable  to  set  on  foot 
a blockade  of  the  ports  within  the  States  aforesaid,  in 
pursuance  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  of 
the  laws  of  nations  in  such  cases  provided.  For  this 
purpose  a competent  force  will  be  posted  so  as  to 
prevent  entrance  and  exit  of  vessels  from  the  ports 
aforesaid.  If,  therefore,  with  a view  to  violate  such 
blockade,  a vessel  shall  approach  or  shall  attempt  to 
leave  any  of  the  said  ports,  she  shall  be  duly  warned 
by  the  commander  of  one  of  the  blockading  vessels, 


318  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


who  shall  indorse  on  her  register  the  fact  and  date  of 
such  warning ; and  if  the  same  vessel  shall  again 
attempt  to  enter  or  leave  the  blockaded  port,  she  will 
be  captured  and  sent  to  the  nearest  convenient  port, 
for  such  proceedings  against  her  and  her  cargo,  as 
prize,  as  may  be  deemed  advisable. 

And  I hereby  proclaim  and  declare,  that  if  any 
person,  under  the  pretended  authority  of  said  States, 
or  under  any  other  pretense,  shall  molest  a vessel  of 
the  United  States,  or  the  persons  or  cargo  on  board 
of  her,  such  person  will  be  held  amenable  to  the  laws 
of  the  United  States  for  the  prevention  and  punish- 
ment of  piracy. 

By  the  President,  Abraham  Lincoln. 
William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State. 

Washington,  April  19,  1861. 

On  the  27th  of  April  tl?e  President  issued  a proc- 
lamation by  which  the  blockade  of  Southern  ports 
was  extended  to  the  ports  of  North  Carolina  and  Vir- 
ginia. And  on  the  16th  of  May,  by  another  procla- 
mation, the  President  directed  the  commander  of  the 
United  States  forces  in  Florida  to  “ permit  no  person 
to  exercise  any  office  or  authority  upon  the  islands 
of  Key  West,  Tortugas,  and  Santa  Rosa,  which  may 
be  inconsistent  with  the  laws  and  Constitution  of  the 
United  States;  authorizing  him,  at  the  same  time, 
if  he  shall  find  it  necessary,  to  suspend  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  and  to  remove  from  the  vicinity  of  the 
United  States  fortresses  all  dangerous  and  suspected 
persons.” 

The  Virginia  Convention  which  passed  the  ordinance 
of  secession  (April  17)  having  appointed  a com- 
mittee to  wait  upon  the  President  and  “ respectfully 
ask  him  to  communicate  to  this  Convention  the  policy 
which  the  Federal  Executive  intends  to  pursue  in 
regard  to  the  Confederate  States,”  Lincoln  in  reply 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  319 


thus  clearly  outlined  the  policy  and  purposes  of  the 
Government : 

In  answer  I have  to  say,  that  having  at  the  begin- 
ning of  my  official  term  expressed  my  intended  policy 
as  plainly  as  I was  able,  it  is  with  deep  regret  and 
mortification  I now  learn  there  is  great  and  injurious 
uncertainty  in  the  public  mind  as  to  what  that  policy 
is  and  what  course  I intend  to  pursue.  Not  having  as 
yet  seen  occasion  to  change,  it  is  now  my  purpose  to 
pursue  the  course  marked  out  in  the  Inaugural  Ad- 
dress. I commend  a careful  consideration  of  the  whole 
document  as  the  best  expression  I can  give  to  my  pur- 
poses. As  I then  and  therein  said,  I now  repeat : 
“ The  power  confided  in  me  will  be  used  to  hold,  occupy, 
and  possess  property  and  places  belonging  to  the 
Government,  and  to  collect  the  duties  and  imposts ; 
but  beyond  what  is  necessary  for  these  objects  there 
will  be  no  invasion,  no  using  of  force  against  or  among 
the  people  anywhere.”  By  the  words  “ property  and 
places  belonging  to  the  Government,”  I chiefly  allude 
to  the  military  posts  and  property  which  were  in  pos- 
session of  the  Government  when  it  came  into  my  hands. 
But  if,  as  now  appears  to  be  true,  in  pursuit  of  a 
purpose  to  drive  the  United  States  authority  from 
these  places,  an  unprovoked  assault  has  been  made 
upon  Fort  Sumter,  I shall  hold  myself  at  liberty  to 
repossess,  if  I can,  like  places  which  had  been  seized 
before  the  Government  was  devolved  upon  me ; and 
in  any  event  I shall,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  repel 
force  by  force.  In  case  it  proves  true  that  Fort 
Sumter  has  been  assaulted,  as  is  reported,  I shall, 
perhaps,  cause  the  United  States  mails  to  be  withdrawn 
from  all  the  States  which  claim  to  have  seceded,  believ- 
ing that  the  commencement  of  actual  war  against  the 
Government  justifies  and  possibly  demands  it.  I 
scarcely  need  to  say  that  I consider  the  military  posts 
and  property  situated  within  the  States  which  claim 
to  have  seceded,  as  yet  belonging  to  the  Government 


320  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 

of  the  United  States  as  much  as  they  did  before  the 
supposed  secession.  Whatever  else  I may  do  for  the 
purpose,  I shall  not  attempt  to  collect  the  duties  and 
imposts  by  any  armed  invasion  of  any  part  of  the 
country;  not  meaning  by  this,  however,  that  I may 
not  land  a force  deemed  necessary  to  relieve  a fort 
upon  the  border  of  the  country.  From  the  fact  that  I 
have  quoted  a part  of  the  Inaugural  Address,  it  must 
not  be  inferred  that  I repudiate  any  other  part,  the 
whole  of  which  I reaffirm,  except  so  far  as  what  I now 
say  of  the  mails  may  be  regarded  as  a modification. 

Abbaham  Lincoln. 

In  the  early  period  of  Lincoln’s  administration  he 
was  hopeful  that  many  serious  phases  of  the  threat- 
ened trouble  might  be  averted,  and  that  the  better 
judgment  of  the  citizens  of  the  South  might  prevail. 
“ For  more  than  a month  after  his  inauguration,” 
says  Secretary  Welles,  “ President  Lincoln  indulged 
the  hope,  I may  say  felt  a strong  confidence,  that 
Virginia  would  not  secede  but  would  adhere  to  the 
Union.  . . . That  there  should  be  no  cause  of  offense, 
no  step  that  would  precipitate  or  justify  secession,  he 
enjoined  forbearance  from  all  unnecessary  exercise  of 
political  party  authority.”  But  he  was  very  decided 
and  determined  as  to  what  his  duty  was  and  what  his 
action  would  be  if  the  secessionists  and  disunionists 
pressed  their  case.  He  said:  “The  disunionists  did 
not  want  me  to  take  the  oath  of  office.  I have  taken 
it,  and  I intend  to  administer  the  office  for  the  benefit 
of  the  people,  in  accordance  with  the  Constitution  and 
the  law.”  He  was  especially  anxious  that  Kentucky 
should  not  be  plunged  into  a rebellious  war,  as  he  saw 
that  this  State  would  be  of  the  utmost  importance 
to  the  Union  cause.  Soon  after  the  bombardment  of 
Fort  Sumter  a conference  was  held  between  the  Presi- 
dent and  a number  of  prominent  Kentuckians  then 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  321 


in  Washington,  at  which  Lincoln  expressed  himself 
in  the  most  earnest  words.  Kentucky,  he  declared, 
“ must  not  be  precipitated  into  secession.  She  is  the 
key  to  the  situation.  With  her  faithful  to  the  Union, 
the  discord  in  the  other  States  will  come  to  an  end. 
She  is  now  in  the  hands  of  those  who  do  not  represent 
the  people.  The  sentiment  of  her  State  officials  must 
be  counteracted.  We  must  arouse  the  young  men 
of  the  State  to  action  for  the  Union.  We  must  know 
what  men  in  Kentucky  have  the  confidence  of  the 
people,  and  who  can  be  relied  on  for  good  judgment, 
that  they  may  be  brought  to  the  support  of  the  Gov- 
ernment at  once.”  He  paid  a high  tribute  to  the 
patriotism  of  the  Southern  men  who  had  stood  up 
against  secession.  “ But,”  said  he,  “ they  are,  as  a 
rule,  beyond  the  meridian  of  life,  and  their  counsel  and 
example  do  not  operate  quickly,  if  at  all,  on  the  ex- 
citable nature  of  young  men  who  become  inflamed  by 
the  preparations  for  war,  and  who  in  such  a war  as 
this  will  be,  if  it  goes  on,  are  apt  to  go  in  on  the  side 
that  gives  the  first  opportunity.  The  young  men 
must  not  be  permitted  to  drift  away  from  us.  I know 
that  the  men  who  voted  against  me  in  Kentucky 
will  not  permit  this  Government  to  be  swept  away 
by  any  such  issue  as  that  framed  by  the  disunionists.” 

As  Mr.  Markland,  a prominent  Kentuckian,  relates, 
in  his  reminiscences  of  the  period : “ Immediately  a 
campaign  for  the  Union  was  begun  in  Kentucky.  The 
State  could  not  be  dragooned  into  open  secession, 
therefore  the  neutrality  policy  was  adopted.  That 
policy  was  more  rigidly  observed  by  Mr.  Lincoln  than 
it  was  by  his  opponents,  but  he  was  not  misled  by  it. 
Judge  Joseph  Holt  made  eloquent  appeals  for  the 
Union  through  the  columns  of  the  press  and  from 
the  forum,  as  did  the  Speeds,  the  Goodloes,  and  many 
others  of  prominence.  Rousseau,  Jacobs,  Pound- 


322  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


baker,  and  others,  stood  guard  in  the  Legislature,  and 
by  their  eloquence  stayed  the  tide  of  disunion  there. 
The  labors  of  Judge  Holt,  the  Speeds,  the  Goodloes, 
Cassius  M.  Clay,  and  their  followers,  had  brought  forth 
fruit  for  the  Union.  The  patriotic  men  in  the  Legis- 
lature had  done  their  work  well.  The  men  in  the  camps 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Ohio  river  moved  over  into 
Kentucky,  and  the  invasion  of  Confederates  which 
was  to  sweep  Kentucky  into  secession  was  at  an  end. 
Kentucky  was  saved  to  the  Union  by  the  wise  counsel 
and  pacific  policy  of  Abraham  Lincoln.” 

A special  session  of  Congress  convened  on  the  4th 
of  July,  in  obedience  to  the  summons  of  the  President 
in  his  proclamation  of  April  15.  The  following  day 
the  message  of  the  Executive  rehearsed  to  the  joint 
Houses  the  circumstances  which  had  rendered  their 
assembling  necessary.  It  portrayed  in  clear  and  suc- 
cinct words  the  situation  of  affairs,  the  aggressive  acts 
of  the  States  aiming  to  disrupt  the  Federal  Union, 
and  the  measures  adopted  by  the  administration  to 
frustrate  their  attempts.  The  assailants  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, said  the  President,  “ have  forced  upon  the 
country  the  distinct  issue,  ‘ immediate  dissolution  or 
blood.’  And  this  issue  embraces  more  than  the  fate  of 
these  United  States.  It  presents  to  the  whole  family 
of  man  the  question  whether  a constitutional  Republic 
or  Democracy  — a Government  of  the  people  by  the 
same  people  — can  or  cannot  maintain  its  territorial 
integrity  against  its  own  domestic  foes.  It  presents 
the  question  whether  discontented  individuals,  too  few 
in  numbers  to  control  administration  according  to 
organic  law  in  any  case,  can  always,  upon  the  pre- 
tenses made  in  this  case,  or  on  any  other  pretenses, 
or  arbitrarily,  without  any  pretense,  break  up  their 
Government,  and  thus  practically  put  an  end  to  free 
government  upon  the  earth.  It  forces  us  to  ask, 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  323 


‘ Is  there,  in  all  Republics,  this  inherent  and  fatal 
weakness?  Must  a Government,  of  necessity,  be  too 
strong  for  the  liberties  of  its  own  people,  or  too  weak 
to  maintain  its  own  existence?  ’ ” The  message  re- 
quested of  Congress  “ the  legal  means  for  making  this 
contest  a short  and  decisive  one;  that  you  place  at 
the  control  of  the  Government,  for  the  work,  at  least 
four  hundred  thousand  men  and  $400,000,000.  That 
number  of  men  is  about  one-tenth  of  those  of  proper 
ages  within  the  regions  where,  apparently,  all  are  will- 
ing to  engage;  and  the  sum  is  less  than  a twenty-third 
part  of  the  money  value  owned  by  the  men  who  seem 
ready  to  devote  the  whole.  A debt  of  $600,000,000 
now  is  a less  sum  per  head  than  was  the  debt  of 
our  Revolution  when  we  came  out  of  that  struggle; 
and  the  money  value  in  the  country  now  bears  even  a 
greater  proportion  to  what  it  was  then  than  does  the 
population.  Surely  each  man  has  as  strong  a motive 
now  to  preserve  our  liberties  as  each  had  then  to 
establish  them.”  The  message  dwelt  upon  the  encour- 
aging facts  “that  the  free  institutions  we  enjoy 
have  developed  the  powers  and  improved  the  condition 
of  our  whole  people  beyond  any  example  in  the  world. 
Of  this  we  now  have  a striking  and  an  impressive 
illustration.  So  large  an  army  as  the  Government  has 
now  on  foot  was  never  before  known  without  a soldier 
in  it  but  had  taken  his  place  there  of  his  own  free 
choice.  But  more  than  this ; there  are  many  single 
regiments  whose  members,  one  and  another,  possess 
full  practical  knowledge  of  all  the  arts,  sciences,  pro- 
fessions, and  whatever  else,  whether  useful  or  elegant, 
is  known  in  the  world ; and  there  is  scarcely  one  from 
which  there  could  not  be  selected  a President,  a Cabi- 
net, a Congress,  and  perhaps  a Court,  abundantly 
competent  to  administer  the  Government  itself.” 
Finally,  and  eloquently,  the  message  demonstrated  the 


324  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


significance  of  the  war  in  its  effect  upon  the  liberties 
and  prayers  of  all  mankind.  This  message  again 
illustrates  Lincoln’s  singular  power  of  stating  clearly 
and  convincingly  the  nature  and  exigencies  of  the 
struggle  for  the  Preservation  of  the  Union.  Said  he: 


This  is  essentially  a people’s  contest.  On  the  side 
of  the  Union  it  is  a struggle  for  maintaining  in  the 
world  that  form  and  substance  of  government  whose 
leading  object  is  to  elevate  the  condition  of  men;  to 
lift  artificial  weights  from  all  shoulders ; to  clear  the 
paths  of  laudable  pursuits  for  all;  to  afford  all  an 
unfettered  start  and  a fair  chance  in  the  race  of  life. 
Yielding  to  partial  and  temporary  departures,  from 
necessity,  this  is  the  leading  object  of  the  Government 
for  whose  existence  we  contend.  I am  most  happy 
to  believe  that  the  plain  people  understand  and  appre- 
ciate this.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  while,  in  this 
the  Government’s  hour  of  trial,  large  numbers  of  those 
in  the  army  and  navy  who  have  been  favored  with  the 
offices  have  resigned  and  proved  false  to  the  hand 
which  had  pampered  them,  not  one  common  soldier 
or  common  sailor  is  known  to  have  deserted  his  flag. 
Great  honor  is  due  to  those  officers  who  remained  true, 
despite  the  example  of  their  treacherous  associates ; 
but  the  greatest  honor,  and  most  important  fact  of 
all,  is  the  unanimous  firmness  of  the  common  soldiers 
and  common  sailors.  To  the  last  man,  so  far  as 
known,  they  have  successfully  resisted  the  traitorous 
efforts  of  those  whose  commands  but  an  hour  before 
they  obeyed  as  absolute  law.  This  is  the  patriotic  in- 
stinct of  plain  people.  They  understand,  without  an 
argument,  that  destroying  the  Government  which  was 
made  by  Washington  means  no  good  to  them.  Our 
popular  Government  has  often  been  called  an  experi- 
ment. Two  points  in  it  our  people  have  already  set- 
tled — the  successful  establishing  and  the  successful 
administering  of  it.  One  still  remains  — its  successful 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  325 


maintenance  against  a formidable  internal  attempt  to 
overthrow  it.  It  is  now  for  them  to  demonstrate  to 
the  world  that  those  who  can  fairly  carry  an  election 
can  also  suppress  a rebellion ; that  ballots  are  the 
rightful  and  peaceful  successors  of  bullets ; and  that 
when  ballots  have  fairly  and  constitutionally  decided, 
there  can  be  no  successful  appeal  back  to  bullets ; that 
there  can  be  no  successful  appeal,  except  to  ballots 
themselves,  at  succeeding  elections.  Such  will  be  a 
great  lesson  of  peace : teaching  men  that  what  they 
cannot  take  by  an  election,  neither  can  they  take  by  a 
war ; teaching  all  the  folly  of  being  the  beginners  of 
a war. 

Through  the  early  summer  of  1861  Washington 
was  alive  with  preparations  for  a military  movement 
against  the  enemy  in  Virginia.  Troops  from  the  North 
were  constantly  arriving,  and  as  rapidly  as  possible 
were  assigned  to  different  organizations  and  drilled 
in  the  art  of  war.  “ Few  comparatively  know  or  can 
appreciate  the  actual  condition  of  things  and  the 
state  of  feeling  of  the  members  of  the  Administration 
in  those  days,”  says  Secretary  Welles.  “ Nearly  sixty 
years  of  peace  had  unfitted  us  for  any  war;  but 
the  most  terrible  of  all  wars,  a civil  war,  was  upon 
us,  and  it  had  to  be  met.  Congress  had  adjourned 
without  making  any  provision  for  the  storm,  though 
aware  it  was  at  hand  and  soon  to  burst  upon  the 
country.  A new  Administration,  its  members  scarcely 
acquainted  with  each  other,  and  differing  essentially 
in  the  past,  was  compelled  to  act,  promptly  and 
decisively.”  The  burden  upon  the  President  began 
to  grow  tremendous ; but  he  did  not  shrink  or  falter. 

Upon  his  back  a more  than  Atlas-load, 

The  burden  of  the  Commonwealth,  was  laid; 

He  stooped,  and  rose  up  to  it,  though  the  road 
Shot  suddenly  downwards,  not  a whit  dismayed. 


326  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


He  labored  incessantly  in  urging  forward  the  prepa- 
rations for  the  great  struggle  which,  however  he 
might  regret  it,  he  now  saw  was  inevitable.  He  was 
in  daily  conference  with  the  officers  of  the  army 
and  of  the  War  Department,  and  was  present  at  in- 
numerable reviews  and  parades  of  the  soldiers.  The 
4th  of  July  was  memorable  for  a grand  review  of  all 
the  New  York  troops  in  and  about  the  city.  It  was 
a brilliant  and  impressive  scene.  Says  a spectator, 
Hon.  A.  G.  Riddle : “ As  they  swept  past  — twenty- 
five  thousand  boys  in  blue  — their  muskets  flashing, 
bands  playing,  and  banners  waving,  I stood  near  a 
distinguished  group  surrounding  the  President,  and 
noted  his  countenance  as  he  turned  to  the  massive 
moving  column.  All  about  him  were  excited,  confident, 
exultant.  He  stood  silent,  pale,  profoundly  sad,  as 
though  his  prophetic  soul  saw  what  was  to  follow. 
He  seemed  to  be  gazing  beyond  the  splendid  pageant 
before  him,  upon  things  hidden  from  other  eyes.  Was 
there  presaged  to  him  a vision  of  that  grander  review 
of  our  victorious  armies  at  the  close  of  the  war,  which 
he  was  not  to  see?  ” 

A few  days  later,  all  the  troops  in  Washington 
crossed  the  Long  Bridge  and  marched,  gallant  and 
exultant,  straight  toward  the  enemy  in  Virginia.  The 
advance  of  our  army  resulted,  on  the  21st  of  July,  in 
the  shameful  disaster  at  Bull  Run.  The  North  was 
filled  with  surprise  and  dismay,  and  even  the  stoutest 
hearts  were  burdened  with  anxiety  for  the  future. 
Lincoln  at  first  shared  somewhat  in  the  general  de- 
pression, but  his  elastic  spirits  quickly  rallied  from 
the  shock.  Three  or  four  days  after  the  battle,  some 
gentlemen  who  had  been  on  the  field  called  upon  him. 
He  inquired  very  minutely  regarding  all  the  circum- 
stances of  the  affair,  and  after  listening  with  the  ut- 
most attention,  said,  with  a touch  of  humor : “ So  it ’s 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  327 


jour  notion  that  we  whipped  the  rebels,  and  then  ran 
away  from  them!  ” Not  long  after  this,  the  President 
made  a personal  visit  to  the  army  in  Virginia.  General 
Sherman,  at  that  time  connected  with  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  says : “ I was  near  the  river-bank,  look- 
ing at  a block-house  which  had  been  built  for  the 
defense  of  the  aqueduct,  when  I saw  a carriage  coming 
by  the  road  that  crossed  the  Potomac  river  at  George- 
town by  a ferry.  I thought  I recognized  in  the  car- 
riage the  person  of  President  Lincoln.  I hurried 
across  a bend,  so  as  to  stand  by  the  roadside  as  the 
carriage  passed.  I was  in  uniform,  with  a sword 
on,  and  was  recognized  by  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr. 
Seward,  who  rode  side  by  side  in  an  open  hack.  I 
inquired  if  they  were  going  to  m}r  camp,  and  Mr. 
Lincoln  said : ‘ Yes ; we  heard  that  you  had  got 
over  the  big  scare,  and  we  thought  we  would  come  over 
and  see  the  boys.’  The  roads  had  been  much  changed 
and  were  rough.  I asked  if  I might  give  directions  to 
his  coachman;  he  promptly  invited  me  to  jump  in,  and 
to  tell  the  coachman  which  way  to  drive.  Intending 
to  begin  on  the  right  and  follow  round  to  the  left, 
I turned  the  driver  into  a side-road  which  led  up  a 
very  steep  hill,  and,  seeing  a soldier,  called  to  him 
and  sent  him  up  hurriedly  to  announce  to  the  Colonel 
whose  camp  we  were  approaching  that  the  President 
was  coming.  As  we  slowly  ascended  the  hill,  I dis- 
covered that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  full  of  feeling,  and 
wanted  to  encourage  our  men.  I asked  if  he  in- 
tended to  speak  to  them,  and  he  said  he  would  like  to. 
I asked  him  then  to  please  discourage  all  cheering, 
noise,  or  any  sort  of  confusion;  that  we  had  had 
enough  of  it  before  Bull  Run  to  ruin  any  set  of  men, 
and  that  what  we  needed  were  cool,  thoughtful,  hard- 
fighting  soldiers  — no  more  hurrahing,  no  more  hum- 
bug. He  took  my  remarks  in  the  most  perfect  good- 


328  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


nature.  Before  we  had  reached  the  first  camp,  I 
heard  the  drum  beating  the  ‘ assembly,’  saw  the  men 
running  for  their  tents,  and  in  a few  minutes  the 
regiment  was  in  line,  arms  presented,  and  then  brought 
to  an  ‘ order  ’ and  ‘ parade  rest.’  Mr.  Lincoln  stood 
up  in  the  carriage,  and  made  one  of  the  neatest,  best, 
and  most  feeling  addresses  I ever  listened  to,  referring 
to  our  late  disaster  at  Bull  Run,  the  high  duties  that 
still  devolved  on  us,  and  the  brighter  days  yet  to 
come.  At  one  or  two  points  the  soldiers  began  to 
cheer,  but  he  promptly  checked  them,  saying:  ‘Don’t 
cheer,  boys.  I confess  I rather  like  it  myself,  but 
Colonel  Sherman  here  says  that  it  is  not  military ; 
and  I guess  we  had  better  defer  to  his  opinion.’  In 
winding  up,  he  explained  that,  as  President,  he  was 
commander-in-chief ; that  he  was  resolved  that  the 
soldiers  should  have  everything  that  the  law  allowed; 
and  he  called  on  one  and  all  to  appeal  to  him  person- 
ally in  case  they  were  wronged.  The  effect  of  this 
speech  was  excellent.  We  passed  along  in  the  same 
manner  to  all  the  camps  of  my  brigade;  and  Mr. 
Lincoln  complimented  me  highly  for  the  order,  clean- 
liness, and  discipline  that  he  observed.  Indeed,  he 
and  Mr.  Seward  both  assured  me  that  it  was  the  first 
bright  moment  that  they  had  experienced  since  the 
battle.” 

“ In  the  .crowd  at  Fort  Corcoran,”  continues  Gen- 
eral Sherman,  “ I saw  an  officer  with  whom  I had 
had  a little  difficulty  that  morning.  His  face  was 
pale  and  his  lips  were  compressed.  I foresaw  a scene, 
but  sat  on  the  front  seat  of  the  carriage  as  quiet 
as  a lamb.  This  officer  forced  his  way  through  the 
crowd  to  the  carriage,  and  said : ‘ Mr.  President,  I 
have  a cause  of  grievance.  This  morning  I went  to 
speak  to  Colonel  Sherman,  and  he  threatened  to  shoot 
ine.’  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  was  still  standing,  said, 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  329 


4 Threatened  to  shoot  you?  ’ 4 Yes,  sir,  he  threatened 

to  shoot  me.’  Mr.  Lincoln  looked  at  him,  then  at 
me ; and  stooping  his  tall,  spare  form  toward  the 
officer,  said  to  him  in  a loud  stage-whisper,  easily 
heard  for  some  yards  around : 4 Well,  if  I were  you, 
and  he  threatened  to  shoot,  I would  not  trust  him,  for 
I believe  he  would  do  it .’  The  officer  turned  about 
and  disappeared,  and  the  men  laughed  at  him.  Soon 
the  carriage  drove  on,  and  as  we  descended  the  hill  I 
explained  the  facts  to  the  President,  who  answered, 
4 Of  course  I did  n’t  know  anything  about  it,  but 
I thought  you  knew  your  own  business  best.’  I thanked 
him  for  his  confidence,  and  assured  him  that  what  he 
had  done  would  go  far  to  enable  me  to  maintain  good 
discipline;  and  it  did.” 

The  days  following  the  Bull  Run  disaster  were  full 
of  depression  and  discouragement,  but  Lincoln  bore 
up  bravely.  He  began  to  feel  the  terrible  realities  of 
his  position,  and  saw  himself  brought  face  to  face 
with  the  most  awful  responsibilities  that  ever  rested 
upon  human  shoulders.  A disrupted  Union,  the  down- 
fall of  the  great  American  Republic,  so  long  pre- 
dicted by  envious  critics  of  our  institutions,  seemed 
about  to  be  accomplished.  At  the  best,  the  Union 
could  be  saved  only  by  the  shedding  of  seas  of  priceless 
blood  and  the  expenditure  of  untold  treasures.  And 
he  must  act,  control,  choose,  and  direct  the  measures 
of  the  Government  and  the  movements  of  its  vast 
armies.  And  what  if  all  should  fail?  What  if  the 
resources  of  the  Government  should  prove  inadequate, 
and  its  enemies  too  powerful  to  be  subdued  by  force? 
No  wonder  he  was  appalled  and  well-nigh  over- 
whelmed by  the  dark  prospect  before  him. 

Rev.  Robert  Collyer  tells  of  seeing  Lincoln  in  the 
summer  of  1861,  on  the  steps  of  the  White  House, 
44  answering  very  simply  and  kindly  to  the  marks  of 


330  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


respect  some  soldiers  had  come  to  pay  him,  who 
stood  in  deep  ranks  on  the  grass,  that  had  been 
top-dressed  with  compost  enough  to  cover  the  whole 
District  of  Columbia,  as  the  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee that  had  to  pass  the  account  told  me.  And 
once,  curiously,  I saw  only  his  feet.  It  was  soon  after 
the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  when  some  say  that  we  ran, 
and  some  say  that  they  ran.  And  all  was  quiet  on  the 
Potomac;  but  the  nation  was  stamping  and  champing 
the  bit.  And  passing  the  White  House  one  day,  I 
saw  three  pairs  of  feet  on  the  sill  of  an  open  window ; 
and  pausing  for  a moment,  a good-natured  fellow 
said,  ‘ That  ’s  the  Cabinet  a sitting  and  them  big  feet  ’ s 
old  Abe's.’  So,  lecturing  in  Boston  not  long  after,  I 
said,  like  a fool  as  I was,  ‘ That ’s  about  all  they  are 
good  for  in  Washington,  to  point  their  feet  out  o’ 
window  and  talk,  but  go  nowhere  and  do  nothing.’ 
When,  indeed,  the  good  President’s  heart  was  even 
then  breaking  with  anxiety  and  trouble.” 

“ One  day,”  says  Mr.  A.  G.  Riddle,  “ I called  at  the 
White  House  to  present  a distinguished  stranger,  who 
had  important  matters  to  bring  to  Mr.  Lincoln’s  notice. 
It  was  evening  — cold,  rainy,  and  cheerless.  The 
Executive  Mansion  was  gloomy  and  silent.  At  Mr. 
Lincoln’s  door  we  were  told  by  the  attendant  to  enter. 
We  found  the  room  quite  dark,  and  seemingly  vacant. 
I advanced  a step  or  two,  to  determine  if  anyone  were 
present,  and  was  arrested  by  a strange  apparition, 
at  first  not  distinguishable:  the  long,  seemingly  life- 
less, limbs  of  a man,  as  if  thrown  upon  a chair  and  left 
to  sprawl  in  unseemly  disorder.  A step  further,  and 
the  fallen  head  disclosed  the  features  of  the  President. 
I turned  back;  a word  from  my  companion  reached 
the  drooping  figure,  and  a sepulchral  voice  bade  us 
advance.  We  came  upon  a man,  in  some  respects  the 
most  remarkable  of  any  time,  in  the  hour  of  his  pros- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  331 


tration  and  weakness  — in  the  depths  of  that  de- 
pression to  which  his  inherited  melancholy  at  times 
reduced  him,  now  perhaps  coming  to  overwhelm  him 
as  he  thought  of  the  calamities  of  his  country.” 

An  old  and  intimate  friend  from  Springfield,  who 
visited  Lincoln  at  this  period,  found  the  door  of  his 
office  in  the  White  House  locked;  but  going  through  a 
private  room  and  a side  entrance,  he  found  the  Presi- 
dent lying  on  a sofa,  evidently  greatly  disturbed  and 
much  excited,  manifestly  displeased  with  the  outlook. 
Jumping  up  from  his  reclining  position,  he  advanced, 
saying:  “You  know  better  than  any  man  living  that 
from  my  boyhood  up  my  ambition  was  to  be  Presi- 
dent. I am  President  of  one  part  of  this  divided  coun- 
try at  least ; but  look  at  me ! I wish  I had  never  been 
born ! I’ve  a white  elephant  on  my  hands,  one  hard 
to  manage.  With  a fire  in  my  front  and  rear,  having 
to  contend  with  the  jealousies  of  the  military  com- 
manders, and  not  receiving  that  cordial  co-operation 
and  support  from  Congress  that  could  reasonably  be 
expected,  with  an  active  and  formidable  enemy  in  the 
field  threatening  the  very  life-blood  of  the  Govern- 
ment, my  position  is  anything  but  a bed  of  roses.” 

But  in  the  darkest  hours  of  the  nation’s  peril,  Lin- 
coln never  wavered  in  his  purpose.  Anxious  and  care- 
worn, his  heart  bleeding  with  grief  for  the  losses 
of  our  brave  soldiers,  and  harassed  by  the  grave 
duties  constantly  demanding  his  attention,  he  had  but 
one  purpose,  — to  go  on  unfalteringly  and  unhesi- 
tatingly in  his  course  until  the  supremacy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment was  restored  in  every  portion  of  its  territory. 
He  wrote  in  a private  letter : “ I expect  to  maintain 
this  contest  until  successful,  or  till  I die,  or  am  con- 
quered, or  my  term  expires,  or  Congress  or  the  country 
forsake  me.” 

Besides  his  invincible  will  and  courage,  Lincoln  had 


332  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


one  important  resource  in  his  dark  hours,  an  ever- 
read}T  relief  for  his  overcharged  emotions.  Byron  said 
that  he  sometimes  laughed  in  order  that  he  might  not 
weep.  Lincoln’s  life-long  solace  was  his  love  of  story- 
telling. Hon.  Hugh  McCulloch,  afterward  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  relates  that  about  a week  after  the 
battle  of  Bull  Run  he  called  at  the  White  House,  in 
company  with  a few  friends,  and  was  amazed  when,  re- 
ferring to  something  which  had  been  said  by  one  of 
the  company  about  the  battle  that  was  so  disastrous 
to  the  Union  forces,  the  President  remarked,  in  his 
usual  quiet  manner,  “ That  reminds  me  of  a story,” 
which  he  told  in  a manner  so  humorous  as  almost  to 
lead  his  listeners  to  believe  that  he  was  free  from 
care  and  apprehension.  Mr.  McCulloch  could  not 
then  understand  how  the  President  could  feel  like 
telling  a story,  when  Washington  was  in  danger  of 
being  captured  and  the  whole  North  was  dismayed. 
He  learned  his  mistake  afterwards,  however,  and  per- 
ceived that  his  estimate  of  Lincoln  before  his  election 
was  well  grounded,  and  that  he  possessed  even  higher 
qualities  than  he  had  been  given  credit  for;  that  he 
was  “ a man  of  sound  judgment,  great  singleness  and 
tenacity  of  purpose,  and  extraordinary  sagacity; 
that  story-telling  was  to  him  a safety-valve,  and  that 
he  indulged  in  it,  not  only  for  the  pleasure  it  afforded 
him,  but  for  a temporary  relief  from  oppressing  cares.” 
It  is  related  that  on  the  morning  after  the  battle  at 
Fredericksburg,  Hon.  I.  N.  Arnold,  then  a member  of 
Congress  from  Illinois,  called  on  the  President,  and 
to  his  amazement  found  him  engaged  in  reading  “ Arte- 
mus  Ward.”  Making  no  reference  to  that  which  occu- 
pied the  universal  thought,  he  asked  Mr.  Arnold  to 
sit  down  while  he  read  to  him  Artemus’  description 
of  his  visit  to  the  Shakers.  Shocked  at  this  proposi- 
tion, Mr.  Arnold  said:  “Mr.  President,  is  it  possible 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  333 


that  with  the  whole  land  bowed  in  sorrow  and  covered 
with  a pall  in  the  presence  of  yesterday’s  fearful  re- 
verse, you  can  indulge  in  such  levity?  ” Throwing 
down  the  book,  with  the  tears  streaming  down  his 
cheeks  and  his  huge  frame  quivering  with  emotion, 
Lincoln  answered : “ Mr.  Arnold,  if  I could  not  get 
momentary  respite  from  the  crushing  burden  I am  con- 
stantly carding,  my  heart  would  break ! ” 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  said:  “His  broad  good 
humor,  running  easily  into  jocular  talk,  in  which  he 
delighted,  and  in  which  he  excelled,  was  a rich  gift 
to  this  wise  man.  It  enabled  him  to  keep  his  secret, 
to  meet  every  kind  of  man,  and  every  rank  in  society; 
to  take  off  the  edge  of  the  severest  decisions,  to  mask 
his  own  purpose  and  sound  his  companion,  and  to 
catch,  with  true  instinct,  the  temper  of  every  com- 
pany he  addressed.  And,  more  than  all,  it  is  to  a 
man  of  severe  labor,  in  anxious  and  exhausting  crises, 
the  natural  restorative,  good  as  sleep,  and  is  the  pro- 
tection of  the  overdriven  brain  against  rancor  and 
insanity.” 

Even  amidst  the  stern  realities  of  war,  Lincoln 
was  keenly  appreciative  of  anything  that  disclosed 
the  comic  or  grotesque  side  of  men  or  happenings, 
— largely,  doubtless,  for  the  relief  afforded  him.  At 
the  beginning  of  Lee’s  invasion  of  Pennsylvania,  in 
June,  1863,  when  the  Union  forces  under  Colonel  Mil- 
roy  were  driven  out  of  Harper’s  Ferry  by  the  Con- 
federates, great  consternation  and  alarm  were  caused 
by  reports  that  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  been 
routed  and  was  retreating  before  Lee,  who  was  pressing 
forward  toward  Harrisburg,  the  capital  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Mr.  Welles  records  in  his  Diary  (June  17, 
1863)  that  he  was  at  the  War  Department  with  the 
President  and  Secretary  Stanton,  when  “ a messenger 
came  in  from  General  Schenck,  declaring  that  the 


334  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


stragglers  and  baggage-trains  of  Milroy  had  run  away 
in  affright,  and  squads  of  them  on  different  parallel 
roads  had  alarmed  each  other,  and  each  fled  in  terror 
with  all  speed  to  Harrisburg.  This  alone  was  as- 
serted to  be  the  basis  of  the  great  panic  which  had 
alarmed  Pennsylvania  and  the  country.  The  Presi- 
dent,” continues  Mr.  Welles,  “ was  in  excellent  humor. 
He  said  this  flight  would  be  a capital  joke  for  Orpheus 
C.  Kerr  1 to  get  hold  of.  He  could  give  scope  to  his 
imagination  over  the  terror  of  broken  squads  of  panic- 
stricken  teamsters,  frightened  at  each  other  and 
alarming  all  Pennsylvania.  General  Meigs,  who  was 
present,  inquired  with  great  simplicity  who  this  person 
(Orpheus  C.  Kerr)  was.  ‘ Why,’  said  the  President, 
‘have  you  not  read  those  papers?  They  are  in  two 
volumes ; anyone  who  has  not  read  them  is  a heathen.’ 
He  said  he  had  enj  oyed  them  greatly  — except  when 
they  attempted  to  play  their  wit  on  him,  which  did 
not  strike  him  as  very  successful,  but  rather  dis- 
gusted him.  ‘ Now,  the  hits  that  are  given  to  you, 
Mr.  Welles,  or  to  Chase,’  he  said,  ‘I  can  enjoy;  but 
I daresay  they  may  have  disgusted  you  while  I was 
laughing  at  them.  So  vice  versa  as  regards  myself.’  ” 

Hon.  Lawrence  Weldon  relates  that  on  one  occasion 
he  called  upon  the  President  to  inquire  as  to  the  prob- 
able outcome  of  a conflict  between  the  civil  and  military 
authorities  for  the  possession  of  a quantity  of  cotton 
in  a certain  insurrectionary  district.  As  soon  as  the 
inquiry  had  been  made,  Lincoln’s  face  began  lighting 
up,  and  he  said:  “ What  has  become  of  our  old  friend 
Bob  Lewis,  of  DeWitt  County?  Do  you  remember  a 
story  that  Bob  used  to  tell  us  about,  his  going  to 
Missouri  to  look  up  some  Mormon  lands  that  belonged 

1 Orpheus  C.  Kerr  ( Office  Seeker)  was  the  pseudonymn  of  Robert  H. 
Newell,  a popular  humorist  of  the  war  period,  who  dealt  particularly 
with  the  comic  aspects  of  Washington  and  army  life. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  335 


to  his  father?  You  know  that  when  Robert  became  of 
age  he  found  among  the  papers  of  his  father  a number 
of  warrants  and  patents  for  lands  in  Northeast  Mis- 
souri, and  he  concluded  the  best  thing  he  could  do  was 
to  go  to  Missouri  and  investigate  the  condition  of 
things.  It  being  before  the  days  of  railroads,  he 
started  on  horseback,  with  a pair  of  old-fashioned 
saddlebags.  When  he  arrived  where  he  supposed  his 
land  was  situated,  he  stopped,  hitched  his  horse,  and 
went  into  a cabin  standing  close  by  the  roadside.  He 
found  the  proprietor,  a lean,  lank,  leathery  looking 
man,  engaged  in  the  pioneer  business  of  making  bullets 
preparatory  to  a hunt.  On  entering,  Mr.  Lewis  ob- 
served a rifle  suspended  in  a couple  of  buck-horns 
above  the  fire.  He  said  to  the  man,  ‘ I am  looking  up 
some  lands  that  I think  belong  to  my  father,’  and  in- 
quired of  the  man  in  what  section  he  lived.  Without 
having  ascertained  the  section,  Mr.  Lewis  proceeded  to 
exhibit  his  title  papers  in  evidence,  and,  having  es- 
tablished a good  title,  as  he  thought,  said  to  the  man, 
‘Now,  that  is  my  title.  What  is  yours?’  The  pio- 
neer, who  had  by  this  time  become  somewhat  interested 
in  the  proceedings,  pointed  his  long  finger  toward  the 
rifle.  Said  he,  ‘Young  man,  do  you  see  that  gun?’ 
Mr.  Lewis  frankly  admitted  that  he  did.  ‘ Well,’  said 
he,  ‘ that  is  my  title,  and  if  you  don’t  get  out  of  here 
pretty  d — — d quick  you  will  feel  the  force  of  it.’  Mr. 
Lewis  very  hurriedly  put  his  title  papers  in  his  saddle- 
bags, mounted  his  pony  and  galloped  down  the  road, 
and,  as  Bob  says,  the  old  pioneer  snapped  his  gun 
twice  at  him  before  he  could  turn  the  corner.  Lewis 
said  that  he  had  never  been  back  to  disturb  that  man’s 
title  since.  ‘ Now,’  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  ‘ the  military 
authorities  have  the  same  title  against  the  civil  au- 
thorities that  closed  out  Bob’s  Mormon  title  in  Mis- 
souri.’ ” Judge  Weldon  says  that  after  this  anecdote 


336  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


he  understood  what  would  be  the  policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment in  the  matter  referred  to  as  well  as  though  a 
proclamation  had  been  issued. 

The  tedium  of  meetings  of  the  Cabinet  was  often 
relieved,  and  troublesome  matters  before  it  were 
illuminated,  by  some  apt  and  pithy  story.  Secretary 
Welles  tells  of  such  an  occasion  when  “ Seward  was 
embarrassed  about  the  Dominican  [sic]  question.  To 
move  either  way  threatened  difficulty.  On  one  side 
was  Spain,  on  the  other  side  the  negro.  The  Presi- 
dent remarked  that  the  dilemma  reminded  him  of  the 
interview  between  two  negroes,  one  of  whom  was  a 
preacher  endeavoring  to  admonish  and  enlighten  the 
other.  ‘ There  are,’  said  Josh  the  preacher,  ‘ two 
roads  for  you,  Joe.  Be  careful  which  you  take.  One 
ob  dem  leads  straight  to  hell,  de  odder  go  right  to 
damnation.’  Joe  opened  his  eyes  under  the  impres- 
sive eloquence  and  visions  of  an  awful  future,  and  ex- 
claimed, ‘Josh,  take  which  road  you  please;  I go 
troo  de  wood.’  ‘ I am  not  disposed  to  take  any  new 
trouble,’  said  the  President,  ‘just  at  this  time,  and 
shall  neither  go  for  Spain  nor  the  negro  in  this  matter, 
but  shall  take  to  the  woods.’  ” 

It  is  related  that  Charles  Sumner,  who  was  a very 
tall  man,  and  proud  of  his  height,  once  worried  the 
President  about  some  perplexing  matter,  when  Lincoln 
sought  to  change  the  subject  by  abruptly  challenging 
his  visitor  to  measure  backs.  “ Sumner,”  said  Mr. 
Lincoln,  “ declined  to  stand  up  with  me,  back  to  back, 
to  see  which  was  the  tallest  man,  and  made  a fine  speech 
about  this  being  the  time  for  uniting  our  fronts  against 
the  enemy,  and  not  our  backs.  But  I guess  he  was 
afraid  to  measure,  though  he  is  a good  piece  of  a man. 
I have  never  had  much  to  do  with  Bishops  where  I 
live,  but,  do  you  know,  Sumner  is  my  idea  of  a Bishop.” 

A good  story  of  President  Lincoln  and  General 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  337 


Scott  is  reported  by  Major-General  Keyes,  who  at  the 
beginning  of  the  war  was  on  the  staff  of  General  Scott, 
then  commander-in-chief  of  the  armies  of  the  United 
States.  “ I was  sent,”  says  General  Keyes,  “ by  my 
chief  to  the  President  with  a message  that  referred 
to  a military  subject,  and  that  led  to  a discussion. 
Finding  that  Mr.  Lincoln’s  observations  were  begin- 
ning to  tangle  my  arguments,  I said,  ‘ That  is  the 
opinion  of  General  Scott,  and  you  know,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, he  is  a very  able  military  man.’  ‘ Well,’  said  the 
President,  ‘ if  he  is  as  able  a military  man  as  he  is  un- 
able as  a politician,  I give  up.’  This  was  said  with 
an  expression  of  the  eye,  which  he  turned  on  me,  that 
wras  peculiar  to  him,  and  which  signified  a great  deal. 
The  astounding  force  of  Mr.  Lincoln’s  observation  was 
not  at  all  diminished  by  the  fact  that  I had  long 
suspected  that  my  chief  lacked  something  which  is 
necessary  to  make  a successful  politician.” 

Among  the  numerous  delegations  which  thronged 
Washington  in  the  early  part  of  the  war  was  one 
from  New  York,  which  urged  very  strenuously  the 
sending  of  a fleet  to  the  southern  cities  — Charleston, 
Mobile,  and  Savannah  — with  the  object  of  drawing 
off  the  rebel  army  from  Washington.  Lincoln  said 
the  object  reminded  him  of  the  case  of  a girl  in  New 
Salem,  who  was  greatly  troubled  with  a “ singing  ” 
in  her  head.  Various  remedies  were  suggested  by  the 
neighbors,  but  nothing  seemed  to  afford  any  relief. 
At  last  a man  came  along  — “a  common-sense  sort 
of  man,”  said  he,  inclining  his  head  towards  his  callers 
pleasantly,  — “ wrho  was  asked  to  prescribe  for  the 
difficulty.  After  due  inquiry  and  examination,  he  said 
the  cure  was  very  simple.  ‘ What  is  it  ? ’ was  the  ques- 
tion. ‘ Make  a plaster  of  psalm-tunes,  and  apply  to 
her  feet,  and  draw  the  singing  down,’  was  the  re- 
joinder.” Still  better  was  his  reply  to  another  dele- 


338  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINC6LN 


gation  of  New  York  millionaires  who  waited  upon  him 
in  1862,  after  the  appearance  of  the  rebel  ram  “ Merri- 
mac,”  and  represented  to  him  that  they  were  very  un- 
easy about  the  unprotected  situation  of  their  city, 
which  was  exposed  to  attack  and  bombardment  by 
rebel  rams ; and  they  requested  him  to  detail  a gun- 
boat to  defend  the  city.  The  gentlemen  were  fifty  in 
number,  very  dignified  and  respectable  in  appearance, 
and  stated  that  they  represented  in  their  own  right 
$100,000,000.  Lincoln  did  not  wish  to  offend  these 
gentlemen,  and  yet  he  intended  to  give  them  a little 
lesson.  He  listened  with  great  attention,  and  seemed 
to  be  much  impressed  by  their  presence  and  their  state- 
ments. Then  he  replied,  very  deliberately : “ Gentle- 
men, I am  by  the  Constitution  commander-in-chief  of 
the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States;  and,  as  a 
matter  of  law,  can  order  anything  done  that  is  prac- 
ticable to  be  done.  But,  as  a matter  of  fact,  I am  not 
in  command  of  the  gun-boats  or  ships  of  war;  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  I do  not  know  exactly  where  they  are, 
but  presume  they  are  actively  engaged.  It  is  impossible 
for  me,  in  the  present  condition  of  things,  to  furnish 
you  a gun-boat.  The  credit  of  the  Government  is  at 
a very  low  ebb;  greenbacks  are  not  worth  more  than 
forty  or  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar ; and  in  this  condition 
of  things,  if  I was  worth  half  as  much  as  you,  gentle- 
men, are  represented  to  be,  and  as  badly  scared  as 
you  seem  to  be,  I would  build  a guru-boat  and  give  it  to 
the  Government .”  A gentleman  who  accompanied  the 
delegation  says  he  never  saw  one  hundred  millions 
sink  to  such  insignificant  proportions,  as  the  com- 
mittee recrossed  the  threshold  of  the  White  House, 
sadder  but  wiser  men. 

“ Mr.  Lincoln  had  his  joke  and  his  ‘ little  story  ’ 
over  the  disruption  of  the  Democracy.  He  once  knew, 
he  said,  a sound  churchman,  of  the  name  of  Brown, 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  339 


who  was  the  member  of  a very  sober  and  pious  com- 
mittee, having  in  charge  the  erection  of  a bridge  over  a 
dangerous  and  rapid  river.  Several  architects  had 
failed,  and  at  last  Brown  said  he  had  a friend  named 
Jones  who  had  built  several  bridges,  and  could  un- 
doubtedly build  that  one.  So  Mr.  Jones  was  called 
in.  ‘ Can  you  build  this  bridge?  ’ inquired  the  com- 
mittee. 4 Yes,’  replied  Jones,  ‘ or  any  other.  I could 
build  a bridge  to  h — 1,  if  necessary.’  The  committee 
were  shocked,  and  Brown  felt  called  upon  to  defend  his 
friend.  ‘ I know  Jones  so  well,’  said  he,  4 and  he  is  so 
honest  a man,  and  so  good  an  architect,  that  if  he 
states  soberly  and  positively  that  he  can  build  a bridge 
to  — to  — the  infernal  regions,  why,  I believe  it ; but 
I feel  bound  to  say  that  I have  my  doubts  about  the 
abutment  on  the  other  side.’  4 So,’  said  Mr.  Lincoln, 
4 when  politicians  told  me  that  the  Northern  and  South- 
ern wings  of  the  Democracy  could  be  harmonized,  why, 
I believed  them,  of  course;  but  I always  had  my  doubts 
about  the  abutment  on  the  other  side.’  ” 

A delegation  once  called  on  Lincoln  to  ask  the  ap- 
pointment of  a gentleman  as  commissioner  to  the  Sand- 
wich Islands.  They  presented  their  case  as  earnestly 
as  possible,  and,  besides  his  fitness  for  the  place,  they 
urged  that  he  was  in  bad  health  and  a residence  in  that 
balmy  climate  would  be  of  great  benefit  to  him.  The 
President  closed  the  interview  with  the  good-humored 
remark : 44  Gentlemen,  I am  sorry  to  say  that  there 
are  eight  other  applicants  for  that  place,  and  they 
are  all  sicker  than  your  man .” 


CHAPTER  XVII 


Lincoln’s  Wise  Statesmanship  — The  Mason  and  Slidell  Affair  — Com- 
plications with  England  — Lincoln’s  “Little  Story”  on  the  Trent 
Affair  — Building  of  the  “ Monitor  ” — Lincoln’s  Part  in  the  En- 
terprise — The  President’s  First  Annual  Message  — Discussion  of 
the  Labor  Question  — ■ A President’s  Reception  in  War  Time  — A 
Great  Affliction  — Death  in  the  White  House  — Chapters  from  the 
Secret  Service  — A Morning  Call  on  the  President  — Goldwin 
Smith’s  Impressions  of  Lincoln  — Other  Notable  Tributes. 

IN  November  of  1861  occurred  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant and  perilous  episodes  of  the  war ; one  whose 
full  significance  was  not  understood,  except  by  a few 
cool  heads,  until  long  afterwards.  Two  influential 
Southern  politicians,  Mason  and  Slidell,  had  been  sent 
by  the  Confederate  Government  as  Commissioners  to 
Great  Britain  and  France,  to  try  to  secure  the  recog- 
nition of  the  Confederacy ; and  while  on  board  the 
British  steamer  “ Trent  ” they  were  taken  prisoners  by 
the  U.  S.  steamer  “ San  Jacinto,”  and  were  brought 
to  Washington.  Great  Britain  loudly  protested 
against  what  she  regarded  as  an  unwarrantable  seizure 
of  passengers  under  the  British  flag,  and  for  a time 
excitement  ran  high  and  war  with  England  seemed 
almost  inevitable.  Fortunately  for  our  country,  the 
controversy  was  amicably  settled  by  the  surrender  of 
the  prisoners,  without  any  sacrifice  of  the  dignity  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States.  As  stated  by 
“ Hosea  Biglow,”  — 

We  gave  the  critters  back,  John, 

Cos  Abraham  thought  ’t  was  right ; 

It  wa’nt  your  bullyin’  clack,  John, 

Provokin’  us  to  fight. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  341 


The  statesmanship  displayed  b}r  our  Government 
throughout  this  difficult  affair  was  of  the  highest 
order.  Credit  for  it  has  been  given  to  Mr.  Seward, 
the  Secretary  of  State,  by  whom  the  correspondence 
and  negotiations  were  conducted.  Few  men  could 
have  managed  these  details  better ; yet  the  course  that 
was  so  happily  determined  on  was  undoubtedly  due  to 
the  good  sense  and  shrewd  wisdom  of  the  President. 
He  not  only  dictated  the  policy  to  be  followed  by 
Mr.  Seward  in  his  despatches  to  the  American  Minister 
in  London,  but  the  more  important  documents  were 
revised  and  materially  altered  by  Lincoln’s  own  hand. 
His  management  of  the  Trent  affair  alone,  it  has  been 
said,  would  suffice  to  establish  his  reputation  as  the 
ablest  diplomatist  of  the  war.  Coming,  as  it  did,  at  a 
time  when  Lincoln  was  overwhelmed  with  the  burden  of 
home  affairs,  it  showed  the  surprising  resources  of  his 
character.  The  readiness  and  ability  with  which  he  met 
this  perilous  emergency,  in  a field  in  which  he  had  had 
absolutely  no  experience  or  preparation,  was  equaled 
only  by  his  cool  courage  and  self-reliance  in  following 
a course  radically  opposed  to  the  prevailing  public 
sentiment,  to  the  views  of  Congress,  and  to  the  advice 
of  his  own  Cabinet.  The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  had 
hastened  to  approve  officially  the  act  of  Captain 
Wilkes,  commander  of  the  “ San  Jacinto,”  and  Secre- 
tary Stanton  “ cheered  and  applauded  ” it.  Even  Mr. 
Seward,  cautious  and  conservative  diplomat  as  he  was, 
at  first  “ opposed  any  concession  or  surrender  of  the 
prisoners.”  But  Lincoln  said  significantly,  “ One  war 
at  a time.”  Events  have  long  since  afforded  the  most 
ample  vindication  of  his  course  in  this  important 
matter.  He  avoided  a foreign  war,  while  at  the  same 
time,  by  committing  Great  Britain  to  the  doctrine  of 
“ peace  between  neutrals,”  gained  a substantial  diplo- 
matic victory  over  that  government. 


342  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


An  excellent  account  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
Trent  affair  is  given  by  Benson  J.  Lossing,  the  author 
and  historian,  who  was  in  Washington  when  the  events 
occurred.  “ The  act  of  Captain  Wilkes,”  says  Mr. 
Lossing,  “ was  universally  applauded  by  all  loyal 
Americans,  and  the  land  was  filled  with  rejoicings  be- 
cause two  of  the  most  mischievous  men  among  the 
enemies  of  the  Government  were  in  custody.  For  the 
moment,  men  did  not  stop  to  consider  the  law  or  the 
expediency  involved  in  the  act.  Public  honors  were 
tendered  to  Captain  Wilkes,  and  resolutions  of  thanks 
were  passed  by  public  bodies.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  wrote  him  a congratulatory  letter  on  the  ‘ great 
public  services  ’ he  had  rendered  in  ‘ capturing  the 
rebel  emissaries,  Mason  and  Slidell,’  and  assured  him 
that  his  conduct  had  4 the  emphatic  approval  of  the 
department.’  The  House  of  Representatives  tendered 
him  their  thanks  for  the  service  he  had  done.  But 
there  was  one  thoughtful  man  in  the  nation,  in  whom 
was  vested  the  tremendous  executive  power  of  the 
Republic  at  that  time,  and  whose  vision  was  con- 
stantly endeavoring  to  explore  the  mysteries  of  the 
near  future,  who  held  calmer  and  wiser  thoughts  than 
most  men  at  that  critical  moment,  because  his  feelings 
were  kept  in  subjection  to  his  judgment  by  a sense  of 
heavy  responsibility.  That  man  was  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. The  writer  was  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
War  when  the  telegraphic  despatch  announcing  the 
capture  of  Mason  and  Slidell  was  brought  in  and 
read.  He  can  never  forget  the  scene  that  ensued.  Led 
by  Secretary  Stanton,  who  was  followed  by  Governor 
Andrew  of  Massachusetts  and  others  who  were  pres- 
ent, cheer  after  cheer  was  heartily  given  by  the 
company.  A little  later,  the  writer  was  favored  with 
a brief  interview  with  the  President,  when  the  clear 
judgment  of  that  far-seeing  and  sagacious  statesman 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  343 


uttered  through  his  lips  the  words  which  formed  the 
suggestion  of,  and  the  keynote  to,  the  judicious  action 
of  the  Secretary  of  State  afterwards.  ‘ I fear  the 
traitors  will  prove  to  be  white  elephants,’  said  Mr. 
Lincoln.  4 We  must  stick  to  American  principles  con- 
cerning the  rights  of  neutrals,’  he  continued.  4 We 
fought  Great  Britain  for  insisting,  by  theory  and  prac- 
tise, on  the  right  to  do  just  what  Captain  Wilkes  has 
just  done.  If  Great  Britain  shall  now  protest  against 
the  act,  and  demand  their  release,  we  must  give  them 
upj  apologize  for  the  act  as  a violation  of  our  own 
doctrines,  and  thus  forever  bind  her  over  to  keep  the 
peace  in  relation  to  neutrals,  and  so  acknowledge  that 
she  has  been  wrong  for  sixty  years.’  Great  Britain  did 
protest  and  make  the  demand,  and  at  the  same  time 
made  preparations  for  war  against  the  United  States. 
On  the  same  day  that  Lord  John  Russell  sent  the  pro- 
test and  demand  to  Lord  Lyons,  the  British  Minister 
at  Washington,  Secretary  Seward  forwarded  a des- 
patch to  Minister  Adams  in  London,  informing  him 
that  this  Government  disclaimed  the  act  of  Captain 
Wilkes,  and  giving  assurance  that  it  was  ready  to 
make  a satisfactory  arrangement  of  all  difficulties  aris- 
ing out  of  the  unauthorized  act.  These  despatches 
passed  each  other  in  mid-ocean.  The  Government,  in 
opposition  to  popular  sentiment,  decided  at  once  to 
restore  Mason  and  Slidell  to  the  protection  of  the 
British  flag.  It  was  soon  afterwards  done,  war  be- 
tween the  two  nations  was  averted,  and,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  President  Lincoln,  the  British  Government 
was  4 forever  bound  to  keep  the  peace  in  relation  to 
neutrals.’  The  wise  statesmanship  exhibited  at  that 
critical  time  was  originated  by  Abraham  Lincoln.” 

Lincoln  once  confessed  that  the  Trent  affair,  occur- 
ring as  it  did  at  a very  critical  period  of  the  war,  had 
given  him  great  uneasiness.  When  asked  whether  it 


344  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


was  not  a great  trial  to  surrender  the  two  captured 
Commissioners,  he  said:  “ Yes,  that  was  a pretty  bitter 
pill  to  swallow,  but  I contented  myself  with  believing 
that  England’s  triumph  in  the  matter  would  be  short- 
lived, and  that  after  ending  our  war  successfully  we 
could  if  we  wished  call  England  to  account  for  the 
embarrassments  she  had  inflicted  upon  us.  I felt  a 
good  deal  like  the  sick  man  in  Illinois  who  was  told 
he  probably  had  n’t  many  days  longer  to  live,  and  that 
he  ought  to  make  peace  with  any  enemies  he  might 
have.  He  said  the  man  he  hated  worst  of  all  was  a 
fellow  named  Brown,  in  the  next  village,  and  he  guessed 
he  had  better  begin  on  him.  So  Brown  was  sent  for, 
and  when  he  came  the  sick  man  began  to  say,  in  a 
voice  as  meek  as  Moses’,  that  he  wanted  to  die  at  peace 
with  all  his  fellow-creatures,  and  hoped  he  and  Brown 
could  now  shake  hands  and  bury  all  their  enmity. 
The  scene  was  becoming  altogether  too  pathetic  for 
Brown,  who  had  to  get  out  his  handkerchief  and  wipe 
the  gathering  tears  from  his  eyes.  It  was  n’t  long  be- 
fore he  melted  and  gave  his  hand  to  his  neighbor,  and 
they  had  a regular  love-feast.  After  a parting  that 
would  have  softened  the  heart  of  a grindstone,  Brown 
had  about  reached  the  room  door,  when  the  sick  man 
rose  up  on  his  elbow  and  said,  4 But,  see  here,  Brown, 
if  I should  happen  to  get  well,  mind  that  old  grudge 
stands!  ’ So  I thought  if  this  nation  should  happen 
to  get  well,  we  might  want  that  old  grudge  against 
England  to  stand.” 

Other  controversies  with  England  arose  during  the 
progress  of  the  war  — over  the  fitting  out  of  Con- 
federate cruisers  at  English  ports  to  prey  upon  the 
commerce  of  the  United  States,  over  captured  mails, 
etc.  — in  which  all  of  Lincoln’s  sagacity  and  patience 
were  needed  to  avert  an  open  rupture  with  the  British 
government.  That  the  strain  was  severe  and  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  315 


danger  great  is  made  clear  by  an  entry  in  Mr.  Welles’s 
Diary,  in  which  he  says:  “ We  are  in  no  condition  for 
a foreign  war.  Torn  by  dissensions,  an  exhausting 
civil  war  on  our  hands,  we  have  a gloomy  prospect, 
but  a righteous  cause  that  will  ultimately  succeed. 
God  alone  knows  through  what  trials,  darkness,  and 
suffering  we  are  to  pass.”  Again,  in  dealing  with  the 
French  invasion  of  Mexico,  Lincoln  — as  Mr.  John 
Bigelow  (then  minister  to  France)  puts  it  — “wisely 
limited  himself  to  a firm  repetition  of  the  views  and 
principles  held  by  the  United  States  in  relation  to 
foreign  invasion,”  and  thereby  gained  a diplomatic 
victory.  How  Avell  “ the  old  grudge  against  Eng- 
land ” stood  is  shown  by  the  substantial  damages  ob- 
tained from  her,  some  years  after  the  war,  on  the 
claims  against  the  Alabama  and  other  privateers,  the 
foundations  of  which  had  been  wisely  laid  by  President 
Lincoln. 

In  the  autumn  of  1861  was  originated  the  plan  of 
a new  naval  vessel,  which  became  the  “ Monitor  ” — 
the  forerunner  of  the  modern  iron-clad,  and  the 
formidable  little  craft  that  beat  back  the  “ Merrimac  ” 
ram  at  Hampton  Roads,  March  9,  1862,  saved  the 
Federal  Navy,  and  revolutionized  naval  architecture. 
The  interesting  story  of  the  project,  and  of  Lincoln’s 
relation  to  it,  is  thus  told : “ The  invention  belongs 
to  Captain  John  Ericsson,  a man  of  marvelous  ability 
and  most  fertile  brain ; but  the  creation  of  the  ‘ Moni- 
tor ’ belongs  to  two  distinguished  iron-masters  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  viz. : the  Hon.  John  F.  Winslow 
and  his  partner  in  business,  the  Hon.  John  A.  Gris- 
wold. These  two  gentlemen  were  in  Washington  in  the 
autumn  of  1861,  for  the  adjustment  of  some  claims 
against  the  Government  for  iron  plating  furnished  by 
them  for  the  war-ship  4 Galena.’  There,  through  Mr. 
C.  S.  Bushnell,  the  agent  of  Captain  Ericsson,  they 


346  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


learned  that  the  plans  and  specifications  for  a naval 
machine,  or  a floating  iron  battery,  presented  by  Cap- 
tain Ericsson,  found  no  favor  with  the  special  board 
appointed  by  Congress  in  1861  to  examine  and  report 
upon  the  subject  of  iron-clad  ships  of  war.  Ericsson 
and  his  agent,  Mr.  Bushnell,  were  thoroughly  dis- 
heartened and  demoralized  at  this  failure  to  interest 
the  Government  in  their  plans.  The  papers  were 
placed  in  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Winslow  and  Griswold, 
with  the  earnest  request  that  they  would  examine  them, 
and,  if  they  thought  well  of  them,  use  their  influence 
with  the  Government  for  their  favorable  consideration. 
Mr.  Winslow  carefully  read  the  papers  and  became 
satisfied  that  Ericsson’s  plan  was  both  feasible  and 
desirable.  After  conference  with  his  friend  and  part- 
ner, Mr.  Griswold,  it  was  determined  to  take  the  whole 
matter  to  President  Lincoln.  Accordingly,  an  inter- 
view was  arranged  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  to  whom  the  plans 
of  Captain  Ericsson  were  presented,  with  all  the  unc- 
tion and  enthusiasm  of  an  honest  and  mastering  con- 
viction, by  Mr.  Winslow  and  Mr.  Griswold,  who  had 
now  become  thoroughly  interested  in  the  undertaking. 
The  President  listened  with  attention  and  growing  in- 
terest. When  they  were  done,  Mr.  Lincoln  said, 
‘ Gentlemen,  why  do  you  bring  this  matter  to  me? 
Why  not  take  it  to  the  Department  having  these  things 
in  charge  ? ’ ‘It  has  been  taken  already  to  the  Depart- 
ment, and  there  met  with  a repulse,  and  we  come  now 
to  you  with  it,  Mr.  President,  to  secure  your  influence. 
We  are  here  not  simply  as  business  men,  but  as  lovers 
of  our  country,  and  we  believe  most  thoroughly  that 
here  is  something  upon  which  we  can  enter  that  will  be 
of  vast  benefit  to  the  Republic,’  was  the  answer.  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  roused  by  the  terrible  earnestness  of  Mr. 
Winslow  and  his  friend  Griswold,  and  said,  in  his  in- 
imitable manner,  ‘ Well,  I don’t  know  much  about 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  317 


ships,  though  I once  contrived  a canal-boat  — the 
model  of  which  is  down  in  the  Patent  Office  — the 
great  merit  of  which  was  that  it  could  run  where  there 
was  no  water.  But  I think  there  is  something  in  this 
plan  of  Ericsson’s.  I ’ll  tell  you  what  I will  do.  I 
will  meet  you  to-morrow  at  ten  o’clock,  at  the  office  of 
Commodore  Smith,  and  we  wTill  talk  it  all  over.’  The 
next  morning  the  meeting  took  place  according  to  the 
appointment.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  present.  The  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy,  with  many  of  the  influential  men  of 
the  Navy  Department,  also  were  there.  The  office 
where  they  met  was  rude  in  its  belongings.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln sat  upon  a rough  box.  Mr.  Winslow,  without 
any  knowledge  of  naval  affairs  other  than  that  which 
general  reading  would  give,  entered  upon  his  task  wflth 
considerable  trepidation,  but  his  whole  heart  was  in 
it,  and  his  showing  was  so  earnest,  practical,  and 
patriotic,  that  a profound  impression  was  made. 
‘ Well,’  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  after  Mr.  Winslow  had 
finished,  ‘ well,  Commodore  Smith,  what  do  you  think 
of  it?  ’ The  Commodore  made  some  general  and  non- 
committal reply,  whereupon  the  President,  rising  from 
the  box,  added,  4 Well,  I think  there  is  something  in 
it.  Good  morning,  gentlemen,’  and  went  out.  From 
this  interview  grew  a Government  contract  with  Messrs. 
Winslow  and  Griswold  for  the  construction  of  the 
4 Monitor,’  the  vessel  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
Government  within  a hundred  days  at  a cost  of 
$275,000.  The  work  was  pushed  with  all  diligence 
till  the  30th  of  January,  1862,  when  the  ship  was 
launched  at  Greenpoint,  one  hundred  and  one  days 
from  the  execution  of  the  contract,  thus  making  the 
work  probably  the  most  expeditious  of  any  recorded 
in  the  annals  of  mechanical  engineering.” 

At  the  assembling  of  Congress  in  December,  1861, 
Lincoln  presented  his  first  Annual  Message.  Among 


348  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


its  most  noteworthy  passages  was  that  which  touched 
upon  the  relations  between  labor  and  capital  — a sub- 
ject so  prominent  in  our  later  day.  It  was  alluded 
to  in  its  connection  with  the  evident  tendency  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy  to  discriminate  in  its  legislation 
in  favor  of  the  moneyed  class  and  against  the  laboring 
people.  On  this  point  the  President  said: 

In  my  present  position,  I could  scarcely  be  justified 
were  I to  omit  raising  a warning  voice  against  this 
approach  of  returning  despotism.  It  is  not  needed 
nor  fitting  here,  that  a general  argument  should  be 
made  in  favor  of  popular  institutions ; but  there  is  one 
point,  with  its  connections,  not  so  hackneyed  as  most 
others,  to  which  I ask  a brief  attention.  It  is  the 
effort  to  place  capital  on  an  equal  footing  with,  if 
not  above,  labor,  in  the  structure  of  government.  It  is 
assumed  that  labor  is  available  only  in  connection  with 
capital;  that  nobody  labors  unless  somebody  else, 
owning  capital,  somehow,  by  the  use  of  it,  induces  him 
to  labor.  This  assumed,  it  is  next  considered  whether 
it  is  best  that  capital  shall  hire  laborers,  and  thus 
induce  them  to  work  by  their  own  consent,  or  buy 
them,  and  drive  them  to  it  without  their  consent. 
Having  proceeded  so  far,  it  is  naturally  concluded 
that  all  laborers  are  either  hired  laborers  or  what  we 
call  slaves.  And  further,  it  is  assumed  that  whoever 
is  once  a hired  laborer  is  fixed  in  that  condition  for 
life.  Now,  there  is  no  such  relation  between  capital 
and  labor  as  assumed;  nor  is  there  any  such  thing 
as  a free  man  being  fixed  for  life  in  the  condition  of 
a hired  laborer.  Both  these  assumptions  are  false,  and 
all  inferences  from  them  are  groundless.  Labor  is 
prior  to  and  independent  of  capital.  Capital  is  only 
the  fruit  of  labor,  and  could  never  have  existed  if  labor 
had  not  first  existed.  Labor  is  the  superior  of  capital, 
and  deserves  much  the  higher  consideration.  Capital 
has  its  rights,  which  are  as  worthy  of  protection  as 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  319 


any  other  rights.  Nor  is  it  denied  that  there  is,  and 
probably  always  will  be,  a relation  between  labor  and 
capital,  producing  mutual  benefits.  The  error  is  in 
assuming  that  the  whole  labor  of  community  exists 
within  that  relation.  A few  men  own  capital,  and 
those  few  avoid  labor  themselves,  and,  with  their  capi- 
tal, hire  or  buy  another  few  to  labor  for  them.  A 
large  majority  belong  to  neither  class  — neither  work 
for  others,  nor  have  others  working  for  them.  In 
most  of  the  Southern  States,  a majority  of  the  whole 
people  of  all  colors  are  neither  slaves  nor  masters ; 
while  in  the  North,  a large  majority  are  neither  hirers 
nor  hired.  Men,  with  their  families  — wives,  sons,  and 
daughters  — work  for  themselves,  on  their  farms,  in 
their  houses,  and  in  their  shops,  taking  the  whole  pro- 
duct to  themselves,  and  asking  no  favors  of  capital 
on  the  one  hand,  nor  of  hired  laborers  or  slaves  on  the 
other.  It  is  not  forgotten  that  a considerable  number 
of  persons  mingle  their  own  labor  with  capital  — that 
is,  they  labor  with  their  own  hands,  and  also  buy  or 
hire  others  to  labor  for  them;  but  this  is  only  a 
mixed,  not  a distinct  class.  No  principle  stated  is  dis- 
turbed by  the  existence  of  this  mixed  class.  Again,  as 
has  already  been  said,  there  is  not,  of  necessity,  any 
such  thing  as  the  free  hired  laborer  being  fixed  to  that 
condition  for  life.  Many  independent  men  everywhere 
in  these  States,  a few  years  back  in  their  lives,  were 
hired  laborers.  The  prudent,  penniless  beginner  in 
the  world  labors  for  wages  awhile,  saves  a surplus 
with  which  to  buy  tools  or  land  for  himself ; then  labors 
on  his  own  account  another  while,  and  at  length  hires 
another  new  beginner  to  help  him.  This  is  the  just 
and  generous  and  prosperous  system,  which  opens  the 
way  to  all,  gives  hope  to  all,  and  consequent  energy 
and  progress  and  improvement  of  condition  to  all. 
No  men  living  are  more  worthy  to  be  trusted  than 
those  who  toil  up  from  poverty  — none  less  inclined  to 
take,  or  touch,  aught  which  they  have  not  honestly 
earned.  Let  them  beware  of  surrendering  a political 


350  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


power  which  they  already  possess,  and  which,  if  sur- 
rendered, will  surely  be  used  to  close  the  door  of  ad- 
vancement against  such  as  they,  and  to  fix  new  disa- 
bilities and  burdens  upon  them  till  all  of  liberty  shall 
be  lost. 

The  struggle  of  to-day  is  not  altogether  for  to-day 
— it  is  for  a vast  future  also.  With  a reliance  on 
Providence,  all  the  more  firm  and  earnest,  let  us  pro- 
ceed in  the  great  task  which  events  have  devolved 
upon  us. 

The  reception  given  at  the  White  House  on  New 
Year’s  day,  1862,  was  a brilliant  and  memorable  af- 
fair. It  was  attended  by  distinguished  army  officers, 
prominent  men  from  civil  life,  and  the  leading  ladies 
of  Washington  society.  “ Army  uniforms  prepon- 
derated over  black  dress  coats,  and  the  young  Ger- 
mans of  Blenker’s  division  were  gorgeously  arrayed  in 
tunics  embroidered  with  gold  on  the  collars  and  cuffs, 
sword-belts  of  gold  lace,  high  boots,  and  jingling 
spurs.”  It  was  such  a scene  as  that  before  the  battle 
of  Waterloo,  when  the 

. . . capital  had  gathered  then 

Her  beauty  and  her  chivalry,  and  bright 

The  lamps  shone  o’er  fair  women  and  brave  men ; 

A thousand  hearts  beat  happily ; and  when 
Music  arose,  with  its  voluptuous  swell, 

Soft  eyes  looked  love  to  eyes  that  spake  again, 

And  all  went  merry  as  a marriage  bell. 

How  many  of  these  brave  men  were  destined  never  to 
see  another  New  Year’s  day;  and  how  many  of  those 
soft  eyes  would  soon  be  dimmed  with  tears ! Some- 
thing of  this  feeling  must  have  come  over  the  sad  soul 
of  Lincoln.  An  eye-witness  says  that  he  “ looked  care- 
worn and  thoughtful,  if  not  anxious ; yet  he  had  a 
pleasant  word  for  all.” 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  351 


Early  in  1862  an  event  occurred  which  added  to 
the  sorrow  that  seemed  to  enshroud  the  life  of  Lincoln, 
and  afforded  a glimpse  into  the  depths  of  his  tender 
and  sorrowful  nature.  It  was  the  death  of  his  son 
Willie,  a bright  and  promising  boy,  to  whom  his  father 
was  devotedly  attached.  “ This,”  says  Dr.  J.  G. 
Holland,  “ was  a new  burden ; and  the  visitation  which, 
in  his  firm  faith  in  Providence,  he  regarded  as  provi- 
dential, was  also  inexplicable.  Why  should  he,  with 
so  many  burdens  upon  him,  and  with  such  necessity 
for  solace  in  his  home  and  his  affections,  be  brought 
into  so  tender  a trial?  It  was  to  him  a trial  of  faith, 
indeed.  A Christian  lady  of  Massachusetts,  who  was 
officiating  as  nurse  in  one  of  the  hospitals,  came  in  to 
attend  the  sick  children.  She  reports  that  Mr.  Lin- 
coln watched  with  her  about  the  bedside  of  the  sick 
ones,  and  that  he  often  walked  the  room,  saying  sadly: 
‘ This  is  the  hardest  trial  of  my  life.  Why  is  it? 
Why  is  it?  ’ In  the  course  of  conversations  with  her, 
he  questioned  her  concerning  her  situation.  She  told 
him  she  was  a widow,  and  that  her  husband  and  two 
children  were  in  heaven;  and  added  that  she  saw  the 
hand  of  God  in  it  all,  and  that  she  had  never  loved 
Him  so  much  before  as  she  had  since  her  affliction. 
‘How  is  that  brought  about?’  inquired  Mr.  Lincoln. 
‘ Simply  by  trusting  in  God,  and  feeling  that  He  does 
all  things  well,’  she  replied.  ‘ Did  you  submit  fully 
under  the  first  loss?’  he  asked.  ‘No,’  she  answered, 
‘ not  wholly ; but  as  blow  came  upon  blow,  and  all 
were  taken,  I could  and  did  submit,  and  was  very 
happy.’  He  responded,  ‘ I am  glad  to  hear  you  say 
that.  ’Your  experience  will  help  me  to  bear  my  afflic- 
tions.’ On  being  assured  that  many  Christians  were 
praying  for  him  on  the  morning  of  the  funeral,  he 
wiped  away  the  tears  that  sprang  in  his  eyes,  and  said, 
‘ I am  glad  to  hear  that.  I want  them  to  pray  for  me. 


352  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


I need  their  prayers.’  As  he  was  going  out  to  the 
burial,  the  good  lady  expressed  her  sympathy  with  him. 
He  thanked  her  gently,  and  said,  ‘ I will  try  to  go  to 
God  with  my  sorrows.’  A few  days  afterward  she 
asked  him  if  he  could  trust  God.  He  replied,  ‘ I think 
I can.  I will  try.  I wish  I had  that  childlike  faith 
you  speak  of,  and  I trust  He  will  give  it  to  me.’  And 
then  he  spoke  of  his  mother,  whom  so  many  years 
before  he  had  committed  to  the  dust  among  the  wilds 
of  Indiana.  In  this  hour  of  his  great  trial,  the  memory 
of  her  who  had  held  him  upon  her  bosom  and  soothed 
his  childish  griefs  came  back  to  him  with  tenderest 
recollections.  ‘ I remember  her  prayers,’  said  he,  ‘ and 
they  have  always  followed  me.  They  have  clung  to  me 
all  my  life.’  ” 

An  interesting  passage  in  the  secret  history  of  the 
war  at  this  period  is  narrated  by  one  of  the  chief 
actors,  Mr.  A.  M.  Ross,  a distinguished  ornithologist 
of  Canada,  whose  contribution  embodies  also  so  many 
interesting  details  of  Lincoln’s  daily  life  that  it  seems 
worth  giving  rather  fully.  A few  months  after  the 
inauguration  of  President  Lincoln,  Mr.  Ross  received  a 
letter  from  the  Hon.  Charles  Sumner,  requesting  him 
to  come  to  Washington  at  his  earliest  convenience. 
“ The  day  after  my  arrival  in  Washington,”  says  Mr. 
Ross,  “ I was  introduced  to  the  President.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln received  me  very  cordially,  and  invited  me  to 
dine  with  him.  After  dinner  he  led  me  to  a window, 
distant  from  the  rest  of  the  party,  and  said : ‘ Mr. 
Sumner  sent  for  you  at  my  request;  we  need  a confi- 
dential person  in  Canada  to  look  after  our  interests, 
and  keep  us  posted  as  to  the  schemes  of  the  Con- 
federates in  Canada.  You  have  been  strongly  recom- 
mended to  me  for  the  position.  Your  mission  shall  be 
as  confidential  as  you  please;  no  one  here  but  your 
friend  Mr.  Sumner  and  myself  shall  have  any  knowl- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  353 


edge  of  your  position.  Think  it  over  tonight,  and  if 
you  can  accept  the  mission  come  up  and  see  me  at 
nine  o’clock  tomorrow  morning.’  When  I took  my 
leave  of  him,  he  said,  ‘ I hope  you  will  decide  to  serve 
us.’  The  position  thus  offered  was  one  not  suited  to 
my  tastes,  but,  as  Mr.  Lincoln  appeared  very  desirous 
that  I should  accept  it,  I concluded  to  lay  aside  my 
prejudices  and  accept  the  responsibilities  of  the  mis- 
sion. I was  also  persuaded  to  this  conclusion  by  the 
wishes  of  my  friend,  Mr.  Sumner. 

“ At  nine  o’clock  next  morning,  I waited  upon  the 
President,  and  announced  my  decision.  He  grasped 
my  hand  in  a hearty  manner,  and  said : ‘ Thank  you, 
thank  you;  I am  glad  of  it.  You  must  help  us  to 
circumvent  the  machinations  of  the  rebel  agents  in 
Canada.  There  is  no  doubt  they  will  use  your  coun- 
try as  a communicating  link  with  Europe,  and  also 
with  their  friends  in  New  York.  It  is  quite  possible, 
also,  that  they  may  make  Canada  a base  from  which 
to  harass  and  annoy  our  people  along  the  frontier.’ 

“ After  a lengthy  conversation  relative  to  private 
matters  connected  with  my  mission,  I rose  to  leave, 
when  he  said,  ‘ I will  walk  down  to  Willard’s  with  you; 
the  hotel  is  on  my  way  to  the  Capitol,  where  I have 
an  engagement  at  noon.’  Before  we  reached  the  hotel 
a man  came  up  to  the  President  and  thrust  a letter 
into  his  hand,  at  the  same  time  applying  for  some 
office  in  Wisconsin.  I saw  that  the  President  was 
offended  at  the  rudeness,  for  he  passed  the  letter  back 
without  looking  at  it,  saying,  ‘ No,  sir ! I am  not 
going  to  open  shop  here.’  This  was  said  in  a most 
emphatic  manner,  but  accompanied  by  a comical  ges- 
ture which  caused  the  rejected  applicant  to  smile.  As 
we  continued  our  walk,  the  President  spoke  of  the 
annoyances  incident  to  his  position,  saying:  ‘These 
office-seekers  are  a curse  to  the  country ; no  sooner 


354  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


was  my  election  certain,  than  I became  the  prey  of 
hundreds  of  hungry,  persistent  applicants  for  office, 
■whose  highest  ambition  is  to  feed  at  the  Government 
crib.’  When  he  bade  me  good-bye,  he  said,  ‘ Let  me 
hear  from  you  once  a week  at  least.’  As  he  turned  to 
leave  me,  a young  army  officer  stopped  him  and  made 
some  request,  to  which  the  President  replied  with  a 
good  deal  of  humor,  ‘ No,  I can’t  do  that ; I must  not 
interfere;  they  would  scratch  my  eyes  out  if  I did. 
You  must  go  to  the  proper  department.’ 

“ Some  time  later,”  says  Mr.  Ross,  “ I again  visited 
Washington.  On  my  arrival  there  (about  midnight) 
I went  direct  to  the  Executive  Mansion,  and  sent  my 
card  to  the  President,  who  had  retired.  In  a few 
minutes  the  porter  returned  and  requested  me  to  ac- 
company him  to  the  President’s  office,  where  Mr.  Lin- 
coln would  shortly  join  me.  The  room  into  which  I 
was  ushered  was  the  same  in  which  I had  spent  several 
hours  with  the  President  on  the  occasion  of  my  first 
interview  with  him.  Scattered  about  the  floor  and 
lying  open  on  the  table  were  several  military  maps  and 
documents,  indicating  recent  use.  In  a few  minutes 
the  President  came  in  and  welcomed  me  in  a most 
friendly  manner;  I expressed  my  regret  at  disturb- 
ing him  at  such  an  hour.  He  replied  in  a good-hu- 
mored manner,  saying,  ‘ No,  no!  You  did  right;  you 
may  waken  me  up  whenever  you  please.  I have  slept 
with  one  eye  open  ever  since  I came  to  Washington; 
I never  close  both,  except  when  an  office-seeker  is  look- 
ing for  me.’  I then  laid  before  the  President  the  ‘ rebel 
mail.’  He  carefully  examined  the  address  of  each 
letter,  making  occasional  remarks.  At  length  he  found 
one  addressed  to  Franklin  Pierce,  ex-President  of  the 
United  States,  then  residing  in  New  Hampshire;  and 
another  to  ex- Attorney-General  Cushing,  a resident  of 
Massachusetts.  He  appeared  much  surprised,  and  re- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  355 


marked  with  a sigh,  but  without  the  slightest  tone  of 
asperity,  4 I will  have  these  letters  enclosed  in  official 
envelopes,  and  sent  to  these  parties.’  When  he  had 
finished  examining  the  addresses,  he  tied  up  all  those 
addressed  to  private  individuals,  saying,  ‘ I won’t 
bother  with  them ; but  these  look  like  official  letters ; 
I guess  I ’ll  go  through  them  now.’  He  then  opened 
them,  and  read  their  contents,  slowly  and  carefully. 
While  he  was  thus  occupied,  I had  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity of  studying  this  extraordinary  man.  A marked 
change  had  taken  place  in  his  countenance  since  my 
first  interview  with  him.  He  looked  much  older,  and 
bore  traces  of  having  passed  through  months  of  pain- 
ful anxiety  and  trouble.  There  was  a sad  and  serious 
look  in  his  eyes  that  spoke  louder  than  words  of  the 
disappointments,  trials,  and  discouragements  he  had 
encountered  since  the  war  began.  The  wrinkles  about 
the  eyes  and  forehead  were  deeper ; the  lips  were 
firmer,  but  indicative  of  kindness  and  forbearance. 
The  great  struggle  had  brought  out  the  hidden  riches 
of  his  noble  nature,  and  developed  virtues  and  capa- 
cities which  surprised  his  oldest  and  most  intimate 
friends.  He  was  simple,  but  astute;  he  possessed  the 
rare  faculty  of  seeing  things  just  as  they  are.  He  was 
a just,  charitable,  and  honest  man. 

“ When  Mr.  Lincoln  finished  reading  the  letters,  I 
rose  to  go,  saying  that  I would  go  to  Willard’s,  and 
have  a rest.  ‘ No,  no,’  said  the  President,  4 it  is  now 
three  o’clock ; you  shall  stay  with  me  while  you  are  in 
town ; I ’ll  find  you  a bed  ’ ; and  leading  the  way,  he 
took  me  into  a bedroom,  spying,  £ Take  a good  sleep ; 
you  shall  not  be  disturbed.’  Bidding  me  4 good  night,’ 
he  left  the  room  to  go  back  and  pore  over  the  rebel 
letters  until  daylight,  as  he  afterwards  told  me.  I 
did  not  awaken  from  my  sleep  until  eleven  o’clock  in 
the  forenoon,  soon  after  which  Mr.  Lincoln  came  into 


356  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


my  room,  and  laughingly  said,  ‘ When  you  are  ready, 
I ’ll  pilot  you  down  to  breakfast,’  which  he  did.  Seat- 
ing himself  at  the  table  near  me,  he  expressed  his  fears 
that  trouble  was  brewing  on  the  New  Brunswick  bor- 
der; he  said  he  had  gathered  further  information  on 
that  point  from  the  correspondence,  which  convinced 
him  that  such  was  the  case.  He  was  here  interrupted 
by  a servant,  who  handed  him  a card,  upon  reading 
which  he  arose,  saying,  ‘ The  Secretary  of  War  has 
received  important  tidings ; I must  leave  you  for  the 
present ; come  to  my  room  after  breakfast  and  we  ’ll 
talk  over  this  New  Brunswick  affair.” 

“ On  entering  his  room  again,  I found  him  busily 
engaged  in  writing,  at  the  same  time  repeating  in  a low 
voice  the  words  of  a poem  which  I remembered  reading 
many  years  before.  When  he  stopped  writing  I asked 
him  who  was  the  author  of  that  poem.  He  replied, 
‘ I do  not  know.  I have  written  the  verses  down  from 
memory,  at  the  request  of  a lady  who  is  much  pleased 
with  them.’  He  passed  the  ^ sheet,  on  which  he  had 
written  the  verses,  to  me,  saying,  ‘ Have  you  ever  read 
them?  ’ I replied  that  I had,  many  years  previously, 
and  that  I should  be  pleased  to  have  a copy  of  them  in 
his  handwriting,  when  he  had  time  and  an  inclination 
for  such  work.  He  said,  ‘ Well,  you  may  keep  that 
copy,  if  you  wish.’  ” 

Hon.  William  D.  Kelly,  a Member  of  Congress  from 
Pennsylvania,  relates  that  during  the  time  of  McClel- 
lan’s Peninsular  campaign  he  called  at  the  White 
House  one  morning,  and  while  waiting  to  see  the  Presi- 
dent, Senator  Wilson  of  Massachusetts  entered  the 
chamber,  having  with  him  four  distinguished-looking 
Englishmen.  The  President,  says  Mr.  Kelly,  “ had 
evidently  had  an  early  appointment,  and  had  not  com- 
pleted his  toilet.  He  was  in  slippers,  and  his  panta- 
loons, when  he  crossed  one  knee  over  the  other,  dis- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  357 


closed  the  fact  that  he  wore  heavy  blue  woollen  stock- 
ings. It  was  an  agreeable  surprise  to  learn  that  the 
chief  of  the  visiting  party  was  Professor  Goldwin 
Smith  of  Canada,  one  of  the  firmest  of  our  British 
friends.  As  the  President  rose  to  greet  them,  he  was 
the  very  impersonation  of  easy  dignity,  notwithstand- 
ing the  negligence  of  his  costume.  With  a tact  that 
never  deserted  him,  he  opened  the  conversation  with  an 
inquiry  as  to  the  health  of  his  friend  John  Bright, 
whom  he  said  he  regarded  as  a friend  of  our  country 
and  of  freedom  everywhere.  The  visitors  having  been 
seated,  the  magnitude  of  recent  battles  was  referred  to 
by  Professor  Smith  as  preliminary  to  the  question 
whether  the  enormous  losses  which  were  so  frequently 
occurring  would  not  so  reduce  the  industrial  resources 
of  the  North  as  to  affect  seriously  the  prosperity  of 
individual  citizens  and  consequently  the  revenue  of  the 
country.  He  justified  the  question  by  proceeding  to 
recite  the  number  of  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  re- 
ported after  some  of  the  great  battles  recently  fought. 
There  were  two  of  Mr.  Lincoln’s  official  friends  who 
lived  in  dread  of  his  little  stories.  Neither  of  them  was 
gifted  with  humor,  and  both  could  understand  his 
propositions,  which  were  always  distinct  and  clean  cut, 
without  such  familiar  illustrations  as  those  in  which 
he  so  often  indulged;  and  they  were  chagrined  when- 
ever they  were  compelled  to  hear  him  resort  to  his 
stories  in  the  presence  of  distinguished  strangers. 
They  were  Senator  Wilson  of  Massachusetts  and  Mr. 
Stanton,  Secretary  of  War;  and,  as  Professor  Smith 
closed  his  arithmetical  statement,  the  time  came  for 
the  Massachusetts  Senator  to  bite  his  lips,  for  the 
President,  crossing  his  legs  in  such  a manner  as  to 
show  that  his  blue  stockings  were  long  as  well  as  thick, 
said  that,  in  settling  such  matters  as  that,  we  must  re- 
sort to  ‘ darkey  arithmetic.’  4 To  darkey  arithmetic ! ’ 


358  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


exclaimed  the  dignified  representative  of  the  learning 
and  higher  thought  of  Great  Britain  and  her  American 
Dominion.  ‘ I did  not  know,  Mr.  President,  that  you 
have  two  systems  of  arithmetic.’  ‘ Oh,  yes,’  said  the 
President ; ‘ I will  illustrate  that  point  by  a little  story. 
Two  young  contrabands,  as  we  have  learned  to  call 
them,  were  seated  together,  when  one  said  to  the  other, 
“ Jim,  do  you  know  ’rithmetic?  ” Jim  answered,  “ No; 
what  is  ’rithmetic?”  “Well,”  said  the  other,  “it’s 
when  you  add  up  things.  When  you  have  one  and  one, 
and  you  put  dem  togedder,  dey  makes  two.  And  when 
you  subtracts  things,  when  if  you  have  two  things  and 
you  takes  one  away,  only  one  remains.”  “ Is  dat  ’rith- 
metic? ” “Yah.”  “Well,  ’tain’t  true,  den.  It’s  no 
good!  ” Here  a dispute  arose,  when  Jim  said,  “ Now, 
you  ’spose  three  pigeons  sit  on  that  fence,  and  some- 
body shoot  one  of  dem;  do  t’other  two  stay  dar?  I 
guess  not ! dey  flies  away  quickern  odder  feller  falls.” 
And,  Professor,  trifling  as  the  story  seems,  it  illustrates 
the  arithmetic  you  must  use  in  estimating  the  actual 
losses  resulting  from  our  great  battles.  The  statements 
you  have  referred  to  give  the  killed,  wounded,  and  miss- 
ing at  the  first  roll-call  after  the  battle,  which  always 
exhibits  a greatly  exaggerated  total,  especially  in  the 
column  of  missing.’  ” 

Mr.  Goldwin  Smith,  the  gentleman  referred  to  in 
the  foregoing  anecdote,  has  summarized  his  impressions 
of  Lincoln  in  the  following  paragraph:  “ Such  a 
person  as  Abraham  Lincoln  is  quite  unknown  to  our 
official  circles  or  to  those  of  Continental  nations.  In- 
deed, I think  his  place  in  history  will  be  unique.  He  has 
not  been  trained  to  diplomacy  or  administrative  affairs, 
and  is  in  all  respects  one  of  the  people.  But  how  won- 
derfully he  is  endowed  and  equipped  for  the  perform- 
ance of  the  duties  of  the  chief  executive  officer  of  the 
United  States  at  this  time!  The  precision  and  minute- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  359 


ness  of  his  information  on  all  questions  to  which  we 
referred  was  a succession  of  surprises  to  me.” 

Still  terser,  but  hardly  less  expressive,  is  Emerson’s 
characterization  of  Lincoln  as  one  who  had  been  “ per- 
mitted to  do  more  for  America  than  any  other  Ameri- 
can man.” 

A striking  passage  by  Mr.  Norman  Hapgood  should 
have  place  among  these  tributes.  “ Lincoln  had  no 
artificial  aids.  He  merely  proved  the  weapon  of  finest 
temper  in  the  fire  in  which  he  was  tested.  In  the 
struggle  for  survival  in  a national  upheaval,  he  not 
only  proved  the  living  power  of  integrity  and  elasticity, 
but  he  easily  combined  with  his  feats  of  strength  and 
shrewdness  some  of  the  highest  flights  of  taste.  As  we 
look  back  across  the  changes  of  his  life,  — see  him  pass- 
ing over  the  high  places  and  the  low,  and  across  the 
long  stretches  of  the  prairie ; spending  years  in  the 
Socratic  arguments  of  the  tavern,  and  anon  holding 
the  rudder  of  state  in  grim  silence;  choosing  jests 
which  have  the  freshness  of  earth,  and  principles  of 
eternal  right;  judging  potentates  and  laborers  in  the 
clear  light  of  nature,  and  at  ease  with  both ; alone 
by  virtue  of  a large  and  melancholy  soul,  at  home 
with  every  man  by  virtue  of  love  and  faith,  — this 
figure  takes  its  place  high  in  our  minds  and  hearts, 
not  solely  through  the  natural  right  of  strength  and 
success,  but  also  because  his  strength  is  ours,  and  the 
success  won  by  him  rested  on  the  fundamental  purity 
and  health  of  the  popular  will  of  which  he  was  the 
leader  and  the  servant.  Abraham  Lincoln  was  in  a deep 
and  lasting  sense  the  first  American.” 

Mr.  John  Bigelow,  already  quoted  in  these  pages, 
summarized  Lincoln’s  character  and  achievements  in  a 
passage  of  singular  eloquence  and  force.  “ Lincoln’s 
greatness  must  be  sought  for  in  the  constituents  of  his 
moral  nature.  He  was  so  modest  by  nature  that  he 


300  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


was  perfectly  content  to  walk  behind  any  man  who 
wished  to  walk  before  him.  I do  not  know  that  history 
lias  made  a record  of  the  attainment  of  any  correspond- 
ing eminence  by  any  other  man  who  so  habitually,  so 
constitutionally,  did  to  others  as  lie  would  have  them 
do  to  him.  Without  any  pretensions  to  religious  excel- 
lence, from  the  time  he  first  was  brought  under  the 
observation  of  the  nation  he  seemed,  like  Milton,  to 
have  walked  ‘ as  ever  in  his  great  Taskmaster’s  eye.’ 
St.  Paul  hardly  endured  more  indignities  and  buffetings 
without  complaint.  He  was  not  a learned  man.  He 
was  not  even  one  who  would  deserve  to  be  called  in 
our  day  an  educated  man  — knew  little  rather  than 
much  of  what  the  world  is  proud  of.  He  had  never 
been  out  of  the  United  States,  or  seen  much  of  the 
portion  of  them  lying  east  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains. 
But  the  spiritual  side  of  his  nature  was  so  highly  or- 
ganized that  it  rendered  superfluous  much  of  the  ex- 
perience which  to  most  men  is  indispensable  — the 
choicest  prerogative  of  genius.  It  lifted  him  uncon- 
sciously above  the  world,  above  most  of  the  men  who 
surrounded  him,  and  gave  him  a wisdom  in  emergencies 
which  is  bestowed  only  on  those  who  love  their  fellow- 
man  as  themselves.  ...  In  the  ordinary  sense  of  the 
word,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  a statesman.  Had  he  come 
to  power  when  Van  Buren  did,  or  when  Cleveland  did, 
he  would  probably  have  left  Washington  at  the  close 
of  his  term  as  obscure  as  either  of  them.  The  issues 
presented  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  at  the 
Presidential  election  of  1860  were  to  a larger  extent 
moral  questions,  humanly  speaking,  than  were  those 
presented  at  any  other  Presidential  election.  They 
were:  first,  the  right  of  the  majority  to  rule;  second, 
the  right  of  eight  millions,  more  or  less,  of  our  fellow- 
beings  to  their  freedom;  and,  third,  the  institutions 
and  traditions  which  Washington  planted  and  Jefferson 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  361 


watered,  with  the  sacrifices  necessary  for  their  preser- 
vation. These  questions  subordinated  all  other  political 
issues,  and  appealed  more  directly  and  forcibly  to  the 
moral  sentiments  of  this  nation  than  any  issues  they 
had  ever  before  been  called  to  settle  either  at  the  ballot- 
box  or  by  force  of  arms.  A President  was  needed  at 
Washington  to  represent  these  moral  forces.  Such  a 
President  was  providentially  found  in  Lincoln  . . . 
a President  who  walked  by  faith  and  not  by  sight ; who 
did  not  rely  upon  his  own  compass,  but  followed  a 
cloud  by  day  and  a fire  by  night,  which  he  had  learned 
to  trust  implicitly.” 

A very  graphic  summing-up  of  Lincoln  in  person 
and  character  is  that  of  Mr.  John  G.  Nicolay,  one  of 
his  private  secretaries,  who  knew  him  intimately  and 
understood  him  well.  “ President  Lincoln  was  of  un- 
usual stature,  six  feet  four  inches,  and  of  spare  but 
muscular  build,”  says  Mr.  Nicolay.  “ He  had  been 
in  youth  remarkably  strong  and  skilful  in  the  athletic 
games  of  the  frontier,  where,  however,  his  popularity 
and  recognized  impartiality  oftener  made  him  an  um- 
pire than  a champion.  He  had  regular  and  prepossess- 
ing features,  dark  complexion,  broad,  high  forehead, 
prominent  cheek  bones,  gray,  deep-set  eyes,  and  bushy, 
black  hair,  turning  to  gray  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
Abstemious  in  his  habits,  he  possessed  great  physical 
endurance.  He  was  almost  as  tender-hearted  as  a wo- 
man. ‘ I have  not  willingly  planted  a thorn  in  any 
man’s  bosom,’  he  was  able  to  say.  His  patience  was 
inexhaustible.  He  had  naturally  a most  cheerful  and 
sunny  temper,  was  highly  social  and  sympathetic,  loved 
pleasant  conversation,  wit,  anecdote,  and  laughter.  Be- 
neath this,  however,  ran  an  undercurrent  of  sadness ; 
he  was  occasionally  subject  to  hours  of  deep  silence 
and  introspection  that  approached  a condition  of 
trance.  In  manner  he  was  simple,  direct,  void  of  the 


362  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


least  affectation,  and  entirely  free  from  awkwardness, 
oddity,  or  eccentricity.  His  mental  qualities  were  a 
quick  analytic  perception,  strong  logical  powers,  a 
tenacious  memory,  a liberal  estimate  and  tolerance  of 
the  opinions  of  others,  ready  intuition  of  human  na- 
ture ; and  perhaps  his  most  valuable  faculty  was  rare 
ability  to  divest  himself  of  ail  feeling  or  passion  in 
weighing  motives  of  persons  or  problems  of  state.  His 
speech  and  diction  were  plain,  terse,  forcible.  Relating 
anecdotes  with  appreciating  humor  and  fascinating  dra- 
matic skill,  he  used  them  freely  and  effectively  in  con- 
versation and  argument.  He  loved  manliness,  truth, 
and  justice.  He  despised  all  trickery  and  selfish  greed. 
In  arguments  at  the  bar  he  was  so  fair  to  his  opponent 
that  he  frequently  appeared  to  concede  away  his  client’s 
case.  He  was  ever  ready  to  take  blame  on  himself  and 
bestow  praise  on  others.  ‘ I claim  not  to  have  con- 
trolled events,’  he  said,  ‘ but  confess  plainly  that  events 
have  controlled  me.’  The  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  his  political  chart  and  inspiration.  He  acknowl- 
edged a universal  equality  of  human  rights.  ‘ Cer- 
tainly the  negro  is  not  our  equal  in  color,’  he  said, 
‘ perhaps  not  in  many  other  respects ; still,  in  the 
right  to  put  into  his  mouth  the  bread  that  his  own 
hands  have  earned,  he  is  the  equal  of  every  other  man, 
white  or  black.’  He  had  unchanging  faith  in  self- 
government.  ‘ The  people,’  he  said,  ‘ are  the  rightful 
masters  of  both  congresses  and  courts,  not  to  over- 
throw the  Constitution,  but  to  overthrow  the  men  who 
pervert  the  Constitution.’  Yielding  and  accommodat- 
ing in  non-essentials,  he  was  inflexibly  firm  in  a principle 
or  position  deliberately  taken.  4 Let  us  have  faith  that 
right  makes  might,’  he  said,  ‘ and  in  that  faith  let  us  to 
the  end  dare  to  do  our  duty  as  we  understand  it.’  . . 


CHAPTER  XVm 


Lincoln  and  his  Cabinet  — An  Odd  Assortment  of  Officials  — Miscon- 
ceptions of  Rights  and  Duties  — Frictions  and  Misunderstandings 
— The  Early  Cabinet  Meetings  — Informal  Conversational  Affairs 
— Queer  Attitude  toward  the  War  — Regarded  as  a Political  Af- 
fair — Proximity  to  Washington  a Hindrance  to  Military  Success  — 
Disturbances  in  the  Cabinet  — A Senate  Committee  Demands 
Seward’s  Removal  from  the  Cabinet  — Lincoln’s  Mastery  of  the 
Situation  — - Harmony  Restored  — Stanton  becomes  War  Secre- 
tary — Sketch  of  a Remarkable  Man  — Next  to  Lincoln,  the 
Master-mind  of  the  Cabinet  — Lincoln  the  Dominant  Power. 

PRESIDENT  LINCOLN’S  Cabinet,  while  contain- 
ing men  of  marked  ability  and  fitness  for  their 
positions,  was  in  some  respects  about  as  ill-assorted  and 
heterogeneous  a body  of  men  as  were  ever  called  to 
serve  together  as  ministers  and  advisers  of  a great  gov- 
ernment. Its  selection  was  a surprise  to  the  country. 
Mr.  John  Bigelow  said  it  “ had  the  appearance  of  being 
selected  from  a grab-bag.”  “ Not  one  of  the  members,” 
continues  Mr.  Bigelow,  “ was  a personal  or  much  of  a 
political  friend  of  Mr.  Lincoln ; -not  one  of  them  had 
ever  had  any  experience  or  training  in  any  executive 
office,  except  Welles  of  Connecticut,  if  he  could  be 
claimed  as  an  exception  because  of  having  served  three 
years  in  a bureau  of  the  Navy  in  Washington.  Of 
military  administration,  still  less  of  actual  war,  no 
member  knew  anything  by  experience.  The  heads  of 
the  two  most  important  departments,  the  Secretaries 
of  State  and  the  Treasury,  were  both  disappointed 
candidates  for  the  chair  occupied  by  Mr.  Lincoln.  It 
was  nothing  less  than  Providential  that  the  President 
was  so  happily  constituted  as  neither  to  share  nor  to 


364.  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


provoke  any  of  the  jealousies  or  envies  of  either  of 
them,  and  by  his  absolute  freedom  from  every  selfish 
impulse  gradually  compelled  them  all  to  look  up  to 
him  as  the  one  person  in  whose  singleness  of  eye  they 
could  all  and  always  confide.  Not  immediately,  but  in 
the  course  of  two  or  three  years,  they  got  into  the  habit 
of  turning  to  him  like  quarrelling  children  to  their 
mother  to  settle  all  the  questions  that  temporarily 
divided  them.” 

These  Cabinet  ministers  were  a devoted  and  patriotic 
body  of  men,  but  their  misconceptions  of  their  respec- 
' tive  rights  and  duties  were  at  first  grotesque.  Mr. 
SewTard,  a man  of  far  greater  administrative  experience 
than  Lincoln,  assumed  that  he,  rather  than  the  Presi- 
dent, was  to  be  the  master  mind  of  the  new  adminis- 
tration. “ Premier  ” he  at  first  called  himself.  Mr. 
Stanton,  the  Secretary  of  War,  thought  the  Navy 
should  be  a sort  of  adjunct  to  the  War  Department  — 
an  error  of  which  Secretary  Welles  of  the  Navy  De- 
partment speedily  relieved  him.  These  two  men  were 
altogether  too  unlike  to  get  on  well  together.  The  cold 
and  somewhat  stately  Welles  was  repelled  by  Stanton’s 
impulsiveness  and  violence,  while  Stanton  was  exasper- 
ated by  Welles’s  calmness  and  lack  of  excitability. 
“ Lincoln’s  ministers  had  no  idea  that  he  towered  above 
them,”  says  Mr.  John  T.  Morse,  Jr.,  “and  no  one  of 
them  was  at  all  overawed  by  him  in  those  days.  Pre- 
siding over  them  at  the  Cabinet,  casually  meeting  them, 
chatting  with  them  or  lounging  as  was  his  habit  in 
Stanton’s  room,  Lincoln  seemed  only  officially  superior 
to  them.  One  of  them  had  expected  to  be  President, 
and  another  meant  to  be;  a third  dared  to  be  insolent 
and  unruly ; it  seemed  to  be  only  by  a chance  of  politics 
that  these  men  stood  to  him  as  junior  partners  to  a 
senior,  or  like  a board  of  directors  to  the  president  of 
a corporation.” 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  365 


The  unfriendly  feeling  existing  between  members  of 
the  Cabinet  comes  out  in  many  entries  in  Welles’s 
Diary.  “ Pressing,  assuming,  violent,  impatient,  in- 
triguing, harsh,  and  arbitrary,”  are  examples  of  the 
terms  in  which  Stanton  is  spoken  of  by  Welles  His 
contempt  for  the  Committee  on  the  Conduct  of  the 
War  is  expressed  in  no  less  stinging  words.  The  mem- 
bers of  this  committee  “ are  most  of  them  narrow  and 
prejudiced  partisans,  mischievous  busybodies,  and  a 
discredit  to  Congress.  Mean  and  contemptible  parti- 
sanship colors  all  their  acts.”  It  is  amusing  to  note 
that  while  Secretary  Welles  was  thus  outspoken  in  his 
criticisms  of  others,  he  himself  did  not  escape  calumny. 
One  critic  (Thurlow  Weed,  who,  it  may  be  remembered, 
had  objected  to  Welles’s  appointment  to  a Cabinet  posi- 
tion when  Lincoln  suggested  it  to  him  in  their  con- 
sultation at  Springfield  before  the  inauguration)  de- 
clared that  “ It  is  worse  than  a fault,  it  is  a crime,  to 
keep  that  old  imbecile  at  the  head  of  the  Navy  De- 
partment.” And  another  critic  expressed  the  uncom- 
plimentary opinion  that  “ If  Lincoln  would  send  old 
Welles  back  to  Hartford,  it  would  be  better  for  the 
Navy  and  for  the  country.” 

The  accounts  of  the  earliest  Cabinet  meetings,  as 
given  by  Secretary  Welles,  who  was  nearly  always  pres- 
ent, are  full  of  interest.  “ Cabinet  meetings,  which 
at  that  exciting  period  should  have  been  daily,  were 
infrequent,  irregular,  and  without  system,”  says  Mr. 
Welles.  “ The  Secretary  of  State  notified  his  asso- 
ciates wdien  the  President  desired  a meeting  of  the 
heads  of  Departments.  It  seemed  unadvisable  to  the 
Premier  — as  he  liked  to  be  called  and  considered  — 
that  the  members  should  meet  often,  and  they  did  not. 
Consequently  there  was  very  little  concerted  action. 
At  the  earlier  meetings  there  was  little  or  no  formality ; 
the  Cabinet  meetings  were  a sort  of  privy  council  or 


366  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


gathering  of  equals,  much  like  a Senatorial  caucus, 
where  there  was  no  recognized  leader  and  the  Secretary 
of  State  put  himself  in  advance  of  the  President.  No 
seats  were  assigned  or  regularly  taken.  The  Secretary 
of  State  was  invariably  present  some  little  time  before 
the  Cabinet  assembled,  and  from  his  former  position 
as  the  chief  executive  of  the  largest  State  in  the  Union 
as  well  as  from  his  recent  place  as  a Senator,  and  from 
his  admitted  experience  and  familiarity  with  affairs, 
assumed,  and  was  allowed,  as  was  proper,  to  take  the 
lead  in  consultations  and  also  to  give  tone  and  direction 
to  the  manner  and  mode  of  proceedings.  The  Presi- 
dent, if  he  did  not  actually  wish,  readily  acquiesced  in, 
this.  Mr.  Lincoln,  having  never  had  experience  in  ad- 
ministering the  Government,  State  or  National,  de- 
ferred to  the  suggestions  and  course  of  those  who  had. 
Mr.  Seward  was  not  slow  in  taking  upon  himself  to 
prescribe  action  and  to  do  most  of  the  talking,  without 
much  regard  to  the  modest  chief,  but  often  to  the  dis- 
gust of  his  associates,  particularly  Mr.  Bates,  who  was 
himself  always  courteous  and  respectful,  and  to  the 
annoyance  of  Mr.  Chase,  who  had  had,  like  Mr.  Seward, 
experience  as  a chief  magistrate.  Discussions  were 
desultory  and  without  order  or  system ; but  in  the 
summing-up  and  conclusions  the  President,  who  was  a 
patient  listener  and  learner,  concentrated  results,  and 
often  determined  questions  adverse  to  the  Secretary  of 
State,  regarding  him  and  his  opinions,  as  he  did  those 
of  his  other  advisers,  for  what  they  were  worth  and 
generally  no  more.” 

It  was  perhaps  natural,  in  a country  so  long  free 
from  wars  as  ours  had  been,  that  the  Civil  War  should 
be  regarded  as  a sort  of  political  affair  to  be  directed 
from  Washington  rather  than  by  commanders  in  the 
field.  For  the  first  year  or  so  the  feeling  was  quite 
general  that  military  affairs  should  be  directed  by 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  367 


Congress,  acting  through  its  Committee  on  the  Conduct 
of  the  War,  and  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  who  com- 
plained bitterly  that  he  was  not  allowed  to  assume 
control  of  military  movements  and  that  his  plans  were 
thwarted  by  McClellan  (whom  he  especially  hated). 
The  President  himself  did  not  escape  this  condemna- 
tion. The  feeling  at  this  time  is  expressed  in  a sen- 
tence in  Stanton’s  complaint,  reflected  through  Chase, 
that  “ the  President  takes  counsel  of  none  but  army 
officers  in  army  matters.”  Chase  declared  to  Welles, 
according  to  the  latter,  that  the  Treasury  as  well  as 
other  departments  “ ought  to  be  informed  of  the  par- 
ticulars of  every  movement.”  Tlfe  generals  engaged 
in  planning  the  campaigns  and  fighting  the  battles  of 
the  war,  and  their  commander-in-chief  the  President, 
could  hardly  fail  to  find  their  task  an  uphill  one  when 
ideas  so  naive  and  fatuous  as  these  prevailed.  It  is  no 
wonder  that  General  Grant  recorded  in  his  Memoirs 
the  opinion  that  the  great  difficulty  with  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  during  the  first  year  of  the  war  was  its 
proximity  to  Washington;  that  the  conditions  made 
success  practically  impossible;  and  that  neither  he, 
nor  General  Sherman,  nor  any  officer  known  to  him, 
could  have  succeeded  in  General  McClellan’s  place,  un- 
der the  conditions  that  then  existed.  Gradually,  and 
by  slow  and  often  painful  experience,  a clearer  concep- 
tion of  the  meaning  and  methods  of  war  prevailed. 
In  this,  as  in  so  many  things,  Lincoln’s  insight  was 
first  and  surest.  By  patience,  tact,  shrewdness,  firm- 
ness, and  diplomatic  skill,  he  held  the  Cabinet  together 
and  stimulated  its  members  to  their  best  efforts  for  the 
common  cause. 

But  the  personal  frictions  and  dissensions  in  the 
Cabinet,  and  the  more  or  less  meddlesome  attitude  of 
leaders  in  the  Senate  and  the  House,  at  times  sorely 
tried  the  strength  and  patience  of  the  harassed  Presi- 


368  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


dent,  compelling  him  to  act  the  part  of  peacemaker, 
and  sometimes  of  judge  and  arbiter  as  well.  At  one 
time  Secretary  Stanton  threatened  to  resign ; and 
Chase  declared  that  in  that  case  he  should  go  with 
him.  Stanton  and  Welles  were  in  frequent  antagonism, 
Welles  stating  in  his  Diary  that  Stanton  assumed,  or 
tried  to  assume,  that  the  Navy  should  be  subject  to  the 
direction  of  the  War  Department.  Seward  was  “ med- 
dlesome ” toward  other  departments ; “ runs  to  the 
President  two  or  three  times  a day ; wants  to  be 
Premier,”  etc.,  says  Welles.  “ Between  Seward  and 
Chase  there  was  perpetual  rivalry  and  mutual  but 
courtly  distrust ; they  entered  the  Cabinet  as  rivals, 
and  in  cold  courtesy  so  continued.”  The  most  serious 
of  these  Cabinet  embroglios  occurred  late  in  December 
of  1862,  while  Lincoln  was  well-nigh  overwhelmed  by 
Burnside’s  dreadful  repulse  at  Fredericksburg.  The 
gist  of  the  affair,  as  given  by  Mr.  Welles,  is  that  the 
opposition  to  Seward  in  the  Senate  grew  to  such  a 
point  that  a committee  was  appointed  to  wait  on  the 
President  and  request  Seward’s  removal  from  the  office 
of  Secretary  of  State.  The  President,  Mr.  Welles  tells 
us,  was  “ shocked  and  grieved  ” at  this  demonstration. 
He  asked  all  the  members  of  his  Cabinet  to  meet  the 
Senate  committee  with  him.  All  the  members  of  the 
Cabinet  were  present  except  Seward,  who  had  already 
sent  the  President  his  resignation.  The  meeting  was 
attended  also  by  Senators  Collamer,  Fessenden,  Harris, 
Trumbull,  Grimes,  Howard,  Sumner,  and  Pomeroy. 
The  President,  says  Mr.  Welles,  opened  the  subject 
for  which  the  meeting  was  called,  taking  a conciliatory 
tone  toward  the  Senators,  and  requesting  from  each 
in  turn  an  expression  of  opinion  as  to  the  wisdom  of 
dropping  Seward  from  the  Cabinet.  Most  of  them 
were  strongly  of  the  opinion  that  Seward  ought  to  go. 
The  President  presented  his  own  views,  which  were,  in 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  369 


effect,  that  it  would  be  a mistake  to  let  Seward  leave 
the  Cabinet  at  that  particular  time.  “ He  managed 
his  own  case,”  says  Mr.  Welles,  “ speaking  freely,  and 
showing  great  tact,  shrewdness,  and  ability.”  The  meet- 
ing continued  until  nearly  midnight,  and  the  matter 
was  left  still  in  the  President’s  hands.  The  next  morn- 
ing Mr.  Welles  called  early  at  the  White  House  and 
found  Lincoln  practically  decided  not  to  accept  Sew- 
ard’s resignation,  saying  that  it  would  never  do  to  take 
the  course  prescribed  by  the  Senators ; that  “ the 
Government  would  cave  in  ; it  could  not  stand  — would 
not  hold  water ; the  bottom  would  be  out,”  etc.  He 
requested  Welles  to  go  at  once  to  Seward  and  ask  him 
not  to  press  his  resignation.  Lincoln’s  intuitional  mind 
seemed  at  once  to  connect  Secretary  Chase  with  the 
attack  on  Seward.  Before  Welles  left  the  room,  the 
President  rang  a bell  and  directed  that  a message  be 
sent  to  Chase  requesting  him  to  come  at  once  to  the 
White  House.  When  Welles  returned  from  his  inter- 
view with  Seward,  who  readily  promised  to  withdraw 
his  resignation  at  the  President’s  request,  he  found  both 
Chase  and  Seward  waiting  for  the  President.  The  lat- 
ter soon  came  in,  and  his  first  words  were  to  ask  Welles 
if  he  “ had  seen  the  man,”  to  which  Welles  answered 
that  he  had,  and  that  he  assented  to  what  had  been 
asked  of  him.  The  dramatic  scene  that  followed  is  thus 
described  by  Mr.  Welles  in  his  Diary:  “ The  President 
turned  to  Chase  and  said,  ‘ I sent  for  you,  for  this 
matter  is  giving  me  great  trouble.’  Chase  said  he  had 
been  painfully  affected  by  the  meeting  last  evening, 
which  was  a total  surprise  to  him ; and,  after  some  not 
very  explicit  remarks  as  to  how  he  was  affected,  in- 
formed the  President  he  had  prepared  his  resignation 
of  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  £ Where  is 
it?  ’ said  the  President  quickly,  his  eye  lighting  up  in 
a moment.  ‘ I brought  it  with  me,’  said  Chase,  taking 


370  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


the  paper  from  his  pocket ; ‘ I wrote  it  this  morning.’ 
‘ Let  me  have  it,’  said  the  President,  reaching  his  long 
arm  and  fingers  toward  Chase,  who  held  on,  seemingly 
reluctant  to  part  with  the  letter,  which  was  sealed,  and 
which  he  apparently  hesitated  to  surrender.  Some- 
thing further  he  wished  to  say;  but  the  President  was 
eager  and  did  not  perceive  it,  and  took  and  hastily 
opened  the  letter.  ‘ This,’  said  he,  looking  toward  me 
with  a triumphant  air,  ‘ cuts  the  Gordian  Knot.  I can 
now  dispose  of  this  subject  without  difficulty.  I see  my 
way  clear.’  Chase  sat  by  Stanton,  fronting  the  fire; 
the  President  beside  the  fire,  his  face  toward  them, 
Stanton  nearest  him.  I was  on  the  sofa,  near  the 
east  window.  ‘ Mr.  President,’  said  Stanton,  with 
solemnity,  ‘ I informed  you  day  before  yesterday  that  I 
was  ready  to  tender  you  my  resignation.  I wish  you, 
sir,  to  consider  my  resignation  at  this  time  in  your 
possession.’  £ You  may  go  to  your  department,’  said 
the  President ; ‘ I don’t  want  yours.  This,’  holding  out 
Chase’s  letter,  ‘ is  all  I want ; this  relieves  me ; my  way 
is  clear ; the  trouble  is  ended.  I will  detain  neither  of 
you  longer.’  We  all  rose  to  leave,”  concludes  Mr. 
Welles.  “ Chase  and  myself  came  downstairs  together. 
He  was  moody  and  taciturn.  Someone  stopped  him  on 
the  lower  stairs,  and  I passed  on.” 

A few  days  later,  the  President  requested  both  Sew- 
ard and  Chase  to  withdraw  their  resignations  and  re- 
sume their  duties.  This  was  done,  and  the  trouble  was 
ended  for  the  time.  Both  Secretaries  had  got  their 
lessons,  and  profited  by  them.  By  the  exercise  of  tact 
and  patience,  with  firmness  and  decision  when  required, 
the  President  had  let  it  be  known  that  he  was  the  head 
and  chief  of  the  Administration. 

Next  to  the  President,  it  was  not  Secretary  Seward, 
the  “ Premier  ” as  he  wished  to  be  regarded,  but  the 
War  Secretary,  Stanton,  who  was  the  master-mind  of 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  371 


the  Cabinet.  He  was  the  incarnation  of  energy,  the 
embodiment  of  patriotic  zeal.  With  all  his  faults 
of  temper  and  disposition,  he  was  a man  of  singular 
fitness  for  the  responsible  position  he  occupied,  and 
his  services  to  the  Government  can  hardly  be  over- 
estimated. He  had  been  a Democrat,  a member  of 
Buchanan’s  Cabinet,  and  was,  says  Dr.  Holland,  “ the 
first  one  in  that  Cabinet  to  protest  against  the  down- 
right treason  into  which  it  was  drifting.  He  was  a 
man  of  indomitable  energy,  devoted  loyalty,  and  thor- 
ough honesty.  Contractors  could  not  manipulate  him, 
traitors  could  not  deceive  him.  Impulsive,  perhaps,  but 
true;  wilful,  it  is  possible,  but  placable;  impatient,  but 
persistent  and  efficient,  — he  became  at  once  one  of  the 
most  marked  and  important  of  the  members  of  the 
Cabinet.”  Lincoln  and  Stanton  together  were  em- 
phatically “ a strong  team.” 

Stanton  was  not  a member  of  Lincoln’s  first  Cabinet, 
but  came  into  it  at  the  beginning  of  1862,  in  place  of 
Simon  Cameron,  who  had  just  been  appointed  Minister 
to  Russia.  A very  interesting  account  of  Cameron’s 
personal  relations  with  Lincoln,  the  causes  that  led  to 
his  retirement  from  the  Cabinet,  and  the  appointment 
of  Stanton  in  his  place,  is  given  by  Cameron  himself. 
He  had  been  the  choice  of  the  Pennsylvania  delegation 
for  President,  at  the  Chicago  Convention  in  1860,  and 
it  was  largely  due  to  him  that  Lincoln  received  the 
nomination.  “ After  the  election,”  said  Mr.  Cameron, 
“ I made  a trip  to  the  West  at  Mr.  Lincoln’s  request. 
He  had,  by  letter,  tendered  me  the  position  of  either 
Secretary  of  War  or  Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  but 
when  I went  to  see  him  he  said  that  he  had  concluded 
to  make  Mr.  Seward  Secretary  of  State,  and  he  wanted 
to  give  a place  to  Mr.  Chase.  ‘ Salmon  P.  Chase,’  said 
he,  ‘ is  a very  ambitious  man.’  ‘ Very  well,’  said  I, 
‘ then  the  War  Department  is  the  place  for  him.  We 


372  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


are  going  to  have  an  armed  conflict  over  your  election, 
and  the  place  for  an  ambitious  man  is  in  the  War 
Department.  There  he  will  have  lots  of  room  to  make 
a reputation.’  These  thoughts  of  mine,  that  we  were 
to  have  war,  disturbed  Mr.  Lincoln  very  much,  and 
lie  seemed  to  think  I was  entirely  too  certain  about 
it.  Finally,  when  he  came  to  make  up  his  Cabinet, 
doubtless  remembei'ing  what  I had  said  about  the 
War  Department,  he  appointed  me  Secretary  of 
War.” 

“ There  has  been,”  continues  Mr.  Cameron,  “ a 
great  deal  of  misstatement  as  to  Mr.  Stanton’s  appoint- 
ment as  my  successor.  Stanton  had  been  my  attorney 
from  the  time  I went  into  the  War  Department  until 
he  took  my  place  as  Secretary.  I had  hardly  made 
a move  in  which  the  legality  of  any  question  could  arise. 
I had  taken  his  advice.  I believed  in  the  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war  from  the  start,  while  Mr.  Sew- 
ard believed  in  dallying  and  compromising,  and  Mr. 
Chase  was  constantly  agitated  about  the  expenditure 
of  money;  therefore  it  was  that  I was  careful  to  have 
the  advice  of  an  able  lawyer.  When  the  question  of 
changing  me  from  the  War  Department  to  the  Russian 
mission  came  up,  Mr.  Lincoln  said  to  me,  ‘ Whom  shall 
I appoint  in  your  place?  ’ My  prompt  response  was, 
‘ Edwin  M.  Stanton.’  ‘ But,’  said  he,  ‘ I had  thought 
of  giving  it  to  Holt.’  ‘ Mr.  Lincoln,’  said  I,  ‘ if  I am 
to  retire  in  the  present  situation  of  affairs,  it  seems  but 
proper  that  a friend  of  mine,  or  at  least  a man  not 
unfriendly  to  me,  should  be  appointed  in  my  place.  If 
you  give  Mr.  Stanton  the  position,  you  will  not  only 
accomplish  this  object  but  will  please  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  and  also  get  an  excellent  officer.’  ‘ Very 
well,’  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  ‘ you  go  and  see  him,  and  if  he 
will  accept  the  place  he  shall  have  it.’  I left  the  White 
House  and  started  to  find  Stanton,  passing  through  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  373 


Treasury  Department  on  my  way.  As  I passed  Mr. 
Chase’s  office,  I stepped  in  and  told  him  what  had  oc- 
curred between  the  President  and  myself.  He  said, 
‘ Let ’s  send  for  Stanton ; bring  him  here  and  talk  it 
over.’  4 Very  well,’  said  I,  and  a messenger  was  at 
once  sent.  Stanton  came  immediately,  and  I told  him 
of  the  conference  between  the  President  and  myself. 
He  agreed  to  accept.  We  walked  to  the  White  House, 
and  the  matter  was  settled. 

“ One  of  the  troubles  in  the  Cabinet  which  brought 
about  this  change  was  that  I had  recommended  in  my 
annual  report,  in  the  fall  of  1861,  that  the  negroes 
should  be  enlisted  as  soldiers  after  they  left  their  mas- 
ters. This  advanced  step  was  regarded  by  most  of 
the  Cabinet  with  alarm.  Mr.  Lincoln  thought  it  would 
frighten  the  border  States  out  of  the  Union,  and  Mr. 
Seward  and  Mr.  Chase  thought  it  would  never  do 
at  all.” 

Just  before  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Cameron,  a num- 
ber of  influential  Senators  waited  upon  the  President 
and  represented  to  him  that  inasmuch  as  the  Cabinet 
had  not  been  chosen  with  reference  to  the  war  and  had 
more  or  less  lost  the  confidence  of  the  country,  and 
since  the  President  had  decided  to  select  a new  war 
minister,  they  thought  the  occasion  was  opportune  to 
change  the  whole  seven  Cabinet  ministers.  They  there- 
fore earnestly  advised  him  to  make  a clean  sweep,  select 
seven  new  men,  and  so  restore  the  waning  confidence  of 
the  country.  The  President  listened  with  patient  cour- 
tesy, and  when  the  Senators  had  concluded,  he  said, 
with  a characteristic  gleam  of  humor  in  his  eye : 
“ Gentlemen,  your  request  for  a change  of  the  whole 
Cabinet  because  I have  made  one  change,  reminds  me 
of  a story  I once  heard  in  Illinois  of  a farmer  who 
was  much  troubled  by  skunks,  ^hey  annoyed  his 
household  at  night,  and  his  wife  insisted  that  he  should 


374  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


take  measures  to  get  rid  of  them.  One  moonlight  night 
he  loaded  his  old  shot-gun  and  stationed  himself  in  the 
yard  to  watch  for  the  intruders,  his  wife  remaining  in 
the  house  anxiously  awaiting  the  result.  After  some 
time  she  heard  the  shotgun  go  off,  and  in  a few  minutes 
the  farmer  entered  the  house.  ‘ What  luck  had  you?  ’ 
said  she.  ‘ I hid  myself  behind  the  woodpile,’  said  the 
old  man,  4 with  the  shot-gun  pointed  toward  the  hen- 
roost, and  before  long  there  appeared,  not  one  skunk, 
but  seven.  I took  aim,  blazed  away,  and  killed  one  — 
and  he  raised  such  a fearful  smell  I concluded  it  was 
best  to  let  the  other  six  alone.’  ” The  Senators  re- 
tired, and  nothing  more  was  heard  from  them  about 
Cabinet  reconstruction. 

Of  the  character  and  abilities  of  Secretary  Stanton, 
and  the  relations  between  him  and  the  President,  Gen- 
eral Grant  has  admirably  said : “ I had  the  fullest  sup- 
port of  the  President  and  Secretary  of  War.  No  Gen- 
eral could  want  better  backing;  for  the  President  was 
a,  man  of  great  wisdom  and  moderation,  the  Secretary 
a man  of  enormous  character  and  will.  Very  often 
where  Lincoln  would  want  to  say  Yes,  his  Secretary 
would  make  him  say  No;  and  more  frequently,  when  the 
Secretary  was  driving  on  in  a violent  course,  the  Presi- 
dent would  check  him.  United,  Lincoln  and  Stanton 
made  about  as  perfect  a combination  as  I believe  could, 
by  any  possibility,  govern  a great  nation  in  time  of 
war.  . . . The  two  men  were  the  very  opposite  of 
each  other  in  almost  every  particular,  except  that  each 
possessed  great  ability.  Mr.  Lincoln  gained  influence 
over  men  by  making  them  feel  that  it  was  a pleasure 
to  serve  them.  He  preferred  yielding  his  own  wish  to 
gratify  others,  rather  than  to  insist  upon  having  his 
own  way.  It  distressed  him  to  disappoint  others.  In 
matters  of  public  duty,  however,  he  had  what  he  wished, 
but  in  the  least  offensive  way.  Mr.  Stanton  never  ques- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  375 


tioned  his  own  authority  to  command,  unless  resisted. 
He  cared  nothing  for  the  feeling  of  others.”  In  a fur- 
ther comparison  of  the  two  men,  General  Grant  said: 
“ Lincoln  was  not  timid,  and  he  was  willing  to  trust  his 
generals  in  making  and  executing  plans.  The  Secre- 
tary [Stanton]  was  very  timid,  and  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  avoid  interfering  with  the  armies  covering 
the  capital  when  it  was  sought  to  defend  it  by  an 
offensive  movement  against  the  army  guarding  the  Con- 
federate capital.  He  could  see  our  weakness,  but  he 
could  not  see  that  the  enemy  was  in  danger.  The 
enemy  would  not  have  been  in  danger  if  Mr.  Stanton 
had  been  in  the  field.” 

With  all  his  force  of  character,  and  his  overbearing 
disposition,  Stanton  did  not  undertake  to  rule  the  Presi- 
dent — though  this  has  sometimes  been  asserted.  He 
would  frequently  overawe  and  browbeat  others,  but  he 
was  never  imperious  in  dealing  with  Lincoln.  Mr. 
Watson,  for  some  time  Assistant  Secretary  of  War, 
and  Mr.  Whiting,  Solicitor  of  the  War  Department, 
with  many  others  in  a position  to  know,  have  borne 
positive  testimony  to  this  fact.  Hon.  George  W.  Julian, 
a member  of  the  House  Committee  on  the  Conduct  of 
the  War,  says:  “ On  the  24th  of  March,  1862,  Secre- 
tary Stanton  sent  for  the  Committee  for  the  purpose  of 
having  a confidential  conference  as  to  military  affairs. 
Stanton  was  thoroughly  discouraged.  He  told  us  the 
President  had  gone  back  to  his  first  love,  General 
McClellan,  and  that  it  wTas  needless  for  him  or 
for  us  to  labor  with  him.”  This  language  clearly 
shows  that  Lincoln,  not  Stanton,  was  the  dominant 
mind. 

Wherever  it  was  possible,  Lincoln  gave  Stanton  his 
own  way,  and  did  not  oppose  him.  But  there  were  occa- 
sions when,  in  a phrase  used  by  Lincoln  long  before, 
it  was  “ necessary  to  put  the  foot  down  firmly .”  Such 


376  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


an  occasion  is  described  by  General  J.  B.  Fry,  Provost 
Marshal  of  the  United  States  during  the  war.  An  en- 
listment agent  had  applied  to  the  President  to  have 
certain  credits  of  troops  made  to  his  county,  and  the 
President  promised  him  it  should  be  done.  The  agent 
then  went  to  Secretary  Stanton,  who  flatly  refused  to 
allow  the  credits  as  described.  The  agent  returned  to 
the  President,  who  reiterated  the  order,  but  again  with- 
out effect.  Lincoln  then  went  in  person  to  Stanton’s 
office.  General  Fry  was  called  in  by  Stanton  to  state 
the  facts  in  the  case.  After  he  concluded,  Stanton  re- 
marked that  Lincoln  must  see,  in  view  of  such  facts, 
that  his  order  could  not  be  executed.  What  followed 
is  thus  related  by  General  Fry:  “Lincoln  sat  upon  a 
sofa,  with  his  legs  crossed,  and  did  not  say  a word 
until  the  Secretary’s  last  remark.  Then  he  said,  in  a 
somewhat  positive  tone,  ‘ Mr.  Secretary,  I reckon 
you  ’ll  have  to  execute  the  order.’  Stanton  replied, 
with  asperity,  ‘ Mr.  President,  I cannot  do  it.  The 
order  is  an  improper  one,  and  I cannot  execute  it.’ 
Lincoln  fixed  his  eye  upon  Stanton,  and  in  a firm  voice 
and  with  an  accent  that  clearly  showed  his  determina- 
tion, he  said,  ‘ Mr.  Secretary,  it  will  have  to  be  done.' 
Stanton  then  realized  that  he  was  overmatched.  He 
had  made  a square  issue  with  the  President,  and  had 
been  defeated.  Upon  an  intimation  from  him,  I 
withdrew,  and  did  not  witness  his  surrender.  A few 
minutes  after  I reached  my  office  I received  instruc- 
tions from  the  Secretary  to  carry  out  the  President’s 
order.” 

Vice-President  Wheeler  relates  a characteristic  inci- 
dent illustrating  the  relations  between  Lincoln  and 
Stanton.  The  President  had  promised  Mr.  Wheeler 
an  appointment  for  an  old  friend  as  army  paymaster, 
stating  that  the  Secretary  of  War  would  instruct  the 
gentleman  to  report  for  duty.  Hearing  nothing  fur- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  377 


ther  from  the  matter,  Mr.  Wheeler  at  length  called 
upon  the  Secretary  and  reminded  him  of  the  appoint- 
ment. Mr.  Stanton  denied  all  knowledge  of  the  matter, 
but  stated,  in  his  brusque  manner,  that  the  name  would 
be  sent  in,  with  hundreds  of  others,  to  the  Senate  for 
its  consideration.  Mr.  Wheeler  argued  that  his  friend 
had  been  appointed  by  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the 
Army,  and  that  it  was  unjust  to  ask  him  to  wait  for 
the  tardy  action  of  the  Senate  upon  the  nomination, 
and  that  he  was  entitled  to  be  mustered  in  at  once. 
But  all  in  vain;  the  only  reply  that  could  be  got  from 
the  iron  Secretary  was,  “You  have  my  answer;  no 
argument.”  Mr.  Wheeler  went  to  the  chief  clerk  of  the 
department,  and  asked  for  the  President’s  letter  direct- 
ing the  appointment.  Receiving  it,  he  proceeded  to  the 
White  House,  although  it  was  after  executive  hours. 
“ I can  see  Mr.  Lincoln  now,”  says  Mr.  Wheeler,  “ as 
he  looked  when  I entered  the  room.  He  wore  a long 
calico  dressing-gown,  reaching  to  his  heels ; his  feet 
were  encased  in  a pair  of  old-fashioned  leathern  slip- 
pers, such  as  we  used  to  find  in  the  old-time  country 
hotels,  and  which  had  evidently  seen  much  service  in 
Springfield.  Above  these  appeared  the  home-made  blue 
woollen  stockings  which  he  wore  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year.  He  was  sitting  in  a splint  rocking-chair,  with  his 
legs  elevated  and  stretched  across  his  office  table.  He 
greeted  me  warmly.  Apologizing  for  my  intrusion  at 
that  unofficial  hour,  I told  him  I had  called  simply  to 
ascertain  which  was  the  paramount  power  in  the  Gov- 
ernment, he  or  the  Secretary  of  War.  Letting  down 
his  legs  and  straightening  himself  up  in  his  chair,  he 
answered,  ‘ Well,  it  is  generally  supposed  I am. 
What ’s  the  matter?  ’ I then  briefly  recalled  the  facts 
attending  Sabin’s  appointment,  when,  without  com- 
ment, he  said,  ‘ Give  me  my  letter.’  Then,  taking  his 
pen,  he  indorsed  upon  it: 


378  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Let  the  within  named  J.  A.  Sabin  be  mustered  at 
once.  It  is  due  to  him  and  to  Mr.  W.,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. A.  Lincoln.” 

Armed  with  this  peremptory  order,  Mr.  Wheeler  called 
on  Stanton  the  next  morning.  The  Secretary  was 
furious.  He  charged  Mr.  Wheeler  with  interfering 
with  his  prerogatives.  Mr.  Wheeler  remarked  that 
he  would  call  the  next  morning  for  the  order  to  muster 
in.  He  called  accordingly,  and,  handing  him  the  order, 
in  a rage,  Stanton  said,  “ I hope  I shall  never  hear  of 
this  matter  again.” 

It  is  related  by  Hon.  George  W.  Julian,  already 
quoted,  that  on  a certain  occasion  a committee  of 
Western  men,  headed  by  Mr.  Lovejoy,  procured  from 
the  President  an  important  order  looking  to  the  ex- 
change and  transfer  of  Eastern  and  Western  sol- 
diers, with  a view  to  more  effective  work.  “ Repair- 
ing to  the  office  of  the  Secretary,  Mr.  Lovejoy  ex- 
plained the  scheme,  as  he  had  before  done  to  the  Presi- 
dent, but  was  met  with  a flat  refusal.  ‘ But  we  have 
the  President’s  order,  sir,’  said  Lovejoy.  ‘ Did  Lin- 
coln give  you  an  order  of  that  kind?  ’ said  Stanton. 
‘ He  did,  sir.’  ‘ Then  he  is  a d — d fool,’  said  the  irate 
Secretary.  ‘ Do  you  mean  to  say  the  President  is  a 
d— d fool?’  asked  Lovejoy,  in  amazement.  ‘Yes,  sir, 
if  he  gave  you  such  an  order  as  that.’  The  bewil- 
dered Illinoisan  betook  himself  at  once  to  the  Presi- 
dent, and  related  the  result  of  his  conference.  ‘ Did 
Stanton  say  I was  a d — d fool?  ’ asked  Lincoln,  at  the 
close  of  the  recital.  ‘ He  did,  sir,  and  repeated  it.’ 
After  a moment’s  pause,  and  looking  up,  the  Presi- 
dent said,  ‘ If  Stanton  said  I was  a d — d fool,  then 
I must  be  one,  for  he  is  nearly  always  right,  and  gen- 
erally says  what  he  means.  I will  step  over  and  see 
him.’  ” The  two  men  met,  and  the  matter  was  easily 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  379 


adjusted.  It  was  this  rare  combination  of  good- 
humor  and  firmness  with  an  understanding  of  the 
other’s  trials  and  appreciation  of  his  good  qualities, 
that  reduced  the  friction  of  official  life  and  enabled 
Lincoln  and  Stanton  to  work  together,  in  the  main 
harmoniously  and  efficiently,  in  their  great  task  of 
prosecuting  the  war  and  maintaining  the  integrity 
of  the  Union. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


Lincoln’s  Personal  Attention  to  the  Military  Problems  of  the  War  — 
Efforts  to  Push  forward  the  War  — Disheartening  Delays  — Lin- 
coln’s Worry  and  Perplexity  — Brightening  Prospects  — Union 
Victories  in  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  — Proclamation  by  the 
President  — Lincoln  Wants  to  See  for  Himself  — Visits  Fortress 
Monroe — -Witnesses  an  Attack  on  the  Rebel  Ram  “Merrimac”  — 
The  Capture  of  Norfolk  — Lincoln’s  Account  of  the  Affair  — Letter 
to  McClellan  — Lincoln  and  the  Union  Soldiers  — His  Tender  Solici- 
tude for  the  Boys  in  Blue  — Soldiers  Always  Welcome  at  the  White 
House — Pardoning  Condemned  Soldiers  — Letter  to  a Bereaved 
Mother  — The  Case  of  Cyrus  Pringle  — Lincoln's  Love  of  Soldiers’ 
Humor  — Visiting  the  Soldiers  in  Trenches  and  Hospitals  — Lincoln 
at  “The  Soldiers’  Rest.” 

EARLY  in  1862  Lincoln  began  giving  more  of  his 
personal  attention  to  military  affairs.  He  was 
dissatisfied  with  the  slow  movements  and  small  achieve- 
ments of  our  armies,  and  sought  to  infuse  new  zeal 
and  energy  into  the  Union  commanders.  He  also 
began  a careful  study  of  the  great  military  problems 
pressing  for  solution ; and  he  seemed  resolved  to  assume 
the  full  responsibilities  of  his  position,  not  only  as  the 
civil  head  of  the  Government  but  as  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  armies  and  navies  of  the  United  States. 
In  this  he  was  influenced  by  no  desire  for  personal 
control  of  the  commanders  in  the  field  or  interference 
with  their  plans;  he  always  preferred  to  leave  them 
the  fullest  liberty  of  action.  But  he  felt  that  the 
situation  demanded  a single  head,  ready  and  able  to 
take  full  responsibility  for  the  most  important  steps ; 
and,  true  to  himself  and  his  habits  of  a lifetime,  he 
neither  sought  responsibility  nor  flinched  from  it. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  381 


The  leading  officers  of  the  Union  army  were  mostly 
young  and  inexperienced  men,  and  none  of  them  had 
as  yet  demonstrated  the  capacity  of  a great  com- 
mander. At  best  it  was  a process  of  experiment,  to 
see  what  generals  and  what  strategic  movements  were 
most  likely  to  succeed.  In  order  to  be  able  to  judge 
correctly  of  measures  and  men,  Lincoln  undertook  to 
familiarize  himself  with  the  practical  details  of  mili- 
tary affairs  and  operations.  Here  was  developed  a 
new  and  unsuspected  phase  of  his  character.  The 
plain  country  lawyer,  unversed  in  the  art  of  war,  was 
suddenly  transformed  into  the  great  civil  ruler  and 
military  chieftain.  “ He  was  already,”  says  Mr.  A.  G. 
Riddle,  “ one  of  the  wariest,  coolest,  and  most  skilful 
managers  of  men.  A born  strategist , he  was  now 
rapidly  mastering  the  great  outline  ideas  of  the  art 
of  war.”  “ The  elements  of  selfishness  and  ferocity 
which  are  not  unusual  with  first-class  military  chiefs,” 
said  General  Keyes,  a prominent  officer  of  the  Union 
army,  “ were  wholly  foreign  to  Lincoln’s  nature. 
Nevertheless,  there  was  not  one  of  his  most  trusted 
warlike  counselors  in  the  beginning  of  tlie  war  who 
equaled  him  in  military  sagacity .”  His  reliance,  in 
the  new  duties  and  perils  that  confronted  him,  was 
upon  his  simple  common-sense,  his  native  power  of 
judgment  and  discernment.  “ Military  science,”  says 
a distinguished  officer,  “ is  common-sense  applied  to 
the  affairs  of  war.”  While  Lincoln  made  no  claim 
to  technical  knowledge  in  this  sphere,  and  preferred 
to  leave  details  to  his  subordinates,  he  yet  developed 
an  insight  into  military  problems  and  an  understand- 
ing of  practical  operations  in  the  field  which  enabled 
him  not  only  to  approve  or  disapprove  judiciously, 
but  to  direct  and  plan.  A striking  confirmation  of  this 
is  given  by  Mr.  J.  M.  Winchell,  who  thus  relates  what 
happened  in  a personal  interview  with  the  President: 


382  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


“ I was  accompanied  by  one  of  Mr.  Lincoln’s  personal 
friends ; and  when  we  entered  the  well-known  recep- 
tion-room, a very  tall,  lanky  man  came  quickly  for- 
ward to  meet  us.  His  manner  seemed  to  me  the  per- 
fection of  courtesy.  I was  struck  with  the  simplicity, 
kindness,  and  dignity  of  his  deportment,  so  different 
from  the  clownish  manners  with  which  it  was  then 
customary  to  invest  him.  His  face  was  a pleasant 
surprise,  formed  as  my  expectations  had  been  from 
the  poor  photographs  then  in  vogue,  and  the  general 
belief  in  his  ugliness.  I remember  thinking  how  much 
better-looking  he  was  than  I had  anticipated,  and 
wondering  that  anyone  should  consider  him  ugly.  His 
expression  was  grave  and  care-worn,  but  still  'enlivened 
with  a cheerfulness  that  gave  me  instant  hope.  After 
a brief  interchange  of  commonplaces,  he  entered  on  a 
description  of  the  situation,  giving  the  numbers  of  the 
contending  armies,  their  movements,  and  the  general 
strategical  purposes  which  should  govern  them  both. 
Taking  from  the  wall  a large  map  of  the  United  States, 
and  laying  it  on  the  table,  he  pointed  out  with  his  long 
finger  the  geographical  features  of  the  vicinity,  clearly 
describing  the  various  movements  so  far  as  known, 
reasoning  rigidly  from  step  to  step,  and  creating  a 
chain  of  probabilities  too  strong  for  serious  dispute. 
His  apparent  knowledge  of  military  science,  and  his 
familiarity  with  the  special  features  of  the  present 
campaign,  were  surprising  in  a man  who  had  been  all 
his  life  a civilian,  engrossed  with  politics  and  the 
practise  of  the  law,  and  whose  attention  must  neces- 
sarily be  so  much  occupied  with  the  perplexing  de- 
tail of  duties  incident  to  his  position.  It  was  clear 
that  he  made  the  various  campaigns  of  the  war  a 
subject  of  profound  and  intelligent  study,  forming 
opinions  thereon  as  positive  and  clear  as  those  he 
held  in  regard  to  civil  affairs.” 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  383 


Toward  the  end  of  January,  1862,  Lincoln  sought 
to  overcome  the  inertia  that  seemed  settling  upon 
the  Union  forces  by  issuing  the  “ President’s  General 
Order,  No.  1,”  directing  that,  on  the  22d  day  of  Febru- 
ary following,  “ a general  movement  of  the  land  and 
naval  forces  of  the  United  States  ” be  made  against 
the  insurgent  forces,  and  giving  warning  that  “ the 
heads  of  departments,  and  especially  the  Secretaries 
of  War  and  of  the  Navy,  with  all  their  subordinates, 
and  the  General-in-Chief,  with  all  other  commanders 
and  subordinates  of  land  and  naval  forces,  will  sever- 
ally be  held  'to  their  strict  and  full  responsibilities 
for  prompt  execution  of  this  order.”  This  order, 
while  it  doubtless  served  to  infuse  activity  into  com- 
manders and  officials,  did  not  result  in  any  substan- 
tial successes  to  our  arms.  The  President,  worn  by 
his  ceaseless  activities  and  anxieties,  seems  to  have 
been  momentarily  disheartened  at  the  situation.  Ad- 
miral Dahlgren,  who  was  in  command  of  the  Washing- 
ton navy-yard  in  1862,  narrates  that  one  day,  at  this 
period,  “ the  President  drove  down  to  see  the  hun- 
dred-and-fifty-pounder  cannon  fired.  For  the  first 
time  I heard  the  President  speak  of  the  bare  possibility 
of  our  being  two  nations  — as  if  alluding  to  a pre- 
vious suggestion.  He  could  not  see  how  the  two  could 
exist  so  near  each  other.  He  was  evidently  much 
worried  at  our  lack  of  military  success,  and  remarked 
that  ‘ no  one  seemed  ready.’  ” 

It  is  difficult  to  portray  the  worry  and  perplexity 
that  beset  Lincoln’s  life,  and  the  incessant  demands 
upon  his  attention,  in  his  efforts  to  familiarize  himself, 
as  he  felt  compelled  to  do,  with  the  practical  opera- 
tions of  the  war.  Admiral  Dahlgren,  who  saw  him 
almost  daily,  relates  that  one  morning  the  President 
sent  for  him,  and  said,  “ Well,  Captain,  here ’s  a letter 
about  some  new  powder.”  He  read  the  letter  and 


384  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


showed  the  sample  of  powder,  — adding  that  he  had 
burned  some  of  it  and  it  did  not  seem  a good  article; 
there  was  too  much  residuum.  “Now  I ’ll  show  you,” 
said  he.  So  he  got  a small  sheet  of  paper  and  placed 
some  of  the  powder  on  it,  then  went  to  the  fire,  and 
with  the  tongs  picked  up  a coal,  which  he  blew,  with 
his  spectacles  still  on  his  nose ; then  he  clapped  the 
coal  to  the  powder,  and  after  the  explosion,  remarked: 
“ There  is  too  much  left  there.”  There  is  something 
almost  grotesque,  but  touching  and  pathetic  as  well, 
in  this  picture  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
with  all  his  enormous  cares  and  responsibilities,  en- 
gaged in  so  petty  a matter  as  testing  a sample  of 
powder.  And  yet  so  great  was  his  anxiety  for  the 
success  of  the  armies  and  navies  under  his  control 
that  he  wished  to  become  personally  satisfied  as  to 
every  detail.  He  did  not  wish  our  armies  or  our  war- 
vessels  to  lose  battles  on  account  of  bad  powder.  “ At 
another  time,”  Admiral  Dahlgren  has  related,  “ the 
President  sent  for  me  regarding  some  new  invention. 
After  the  agent  of  the  inventor  left,  the  President 
began  on  army  matters.  ‘Now,’  said  he,  ‘I  am  to 
have  a sweat  of  five  or  six  days’”  (alluding  to  an 
impending  battle,  for  the  result  of  which  he  was  very 
anxious).  Again:  “The  President  sent  for  me.  Some 
man  in  trouble  about  arms ; President  holding  a 
breech-loader  in  his  hand.  He  asked  me  about  the 
iron-clads,  and  Charleston.”  And  again : “ Went  to 
the  Department  and  found  the  President  there.  He 
looks  thin,  and  is  very  nervous.  Said  they  were  doing 
nothing  at  Charleston,  only  asking  for  one  iron-clad 
after  another.  The  canal  at  Vicksburg  was  of  no 
account,  and  he  w’ondered  how  any  sensible  man  could 
favor  it.  He  feared  the  favorable  state  of  public 
expectation  would  pass  away  before  anything  was 
done.  Then  he  leveled  a couple  of  jokes  at  the  doings 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  385 


at  Vicksburg  and  Charleston.,”  No  wonder  the  sym- 
pathetic Dahlgren,  witnessing  the  sufferings  of  the 
tortured  President,  should  exclaim:  “ Poor  gentleman! 
How  thin  and  wasted  he  is ! ” 

The  gloomy  outlook  in  the  Spring  of  1862  was 
relieved  by  the  substantial  victories  of  General  Burn- 
side in  North  Carolina  and  of  General  Grant  in  Ten- 
nessee. The  President  was  cheered  and  elated  by  these 
successes.  It  is  related  that  General  Burnside,  visiting 
Washington  at  this  time,  called  on  the  President,  and 
that  “ the  meeting  was  a grand  spectacle.  The  two 
stalwart  men  rushed  into  each  other’s  arms,  and 
warmly  clasped  each  other  for  some  minutes.  When 
General  Burnside  was  about  to  leave,  the  President 
inquired,  ‘ Is  there  anything,  my  dear  General,  that 
I can  do  for  you?  ’ ‘Yes!  yes!  ’ was  the  quick  reply, 
‘ and  I am  glad  you  asked  me  that  question.  My 
three  brigadiers,  you  know;  everything  depended  on 
them,  and  they  did  their  duty  grandly ! — Oh,  Mr. 
President,  we  owe  so  much  to  them ! I should  so  much 
like,  when  I go  back,  to  take  them  their  promotions.’ 
‘ It  shall  be  done ! ’ was  Lincoln’s  hearty  response, 
and  on  the  instant  the  promotions  were  ordered,  and 
General  Burnside  had  the  pleasure  of  taking  back 
with  him  to  Foster,  Reno,  and  Parke  their  commis- 
sions as  Major-Generals.” 

Our  brightening  prospects  impelled  the  President  to 
issue,  on  the  10th  of  April,  the  following  proclama- 
tion, breathing  his  deeply  religious  spirit: 

It  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to  vouchsafe  signal  vic- 
tories to  the  land  and  naval  forces  engaged  in  sup- 
pressing an  internal  rebellion,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  avert  from  our  country  the  dangers  of  foreign  in- 
tervention and  invasion.  It  is  therefore  recommended 
to  the  people  of  the  United  States  that  at  their  next 
weekly  assemblages  in  their  accustomed  places  of  pub- 


386  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


lie  worship  which  shall  occur  after  the  notice  of  this 
Proclamation  shall  have  been  received,  they  especially 
acknowledge  and  render  thanks  to  our  Heavenly 
Father  for  these  inestimable  blessings;  that  they  then 
and  there  implore  spiritual  consolation  in  behalf  of 
all  those  who  have  been  brought  into  affliction  by  the 
casualties  and  calamities  of  sedition  and  civil  war ; 
and  that  they  reverently  invoke  the  Divine  guidance 
for  our  national  counsels,  to  the  end  that  they  may 
speedily  result  in  the  restoration  of  peace,  harmony, 
and  unity  throughout  our  borders,  and  hasten  the  es- 
tablishment of  fraternal  relations  among  all  the  coun- 
tries of  the  earth.  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Early  in  May  the  President  determined  on  a per- 
sonal visit  to  Fortress  Monroe,  in  order  to  learn  what 
he  could  from  his  own  observation  of  affairs  in  that 
region.  The  trip  was  a welcome  respite  from  the 
cares  and  burdens  of  official  life,  and  he  gave  himself 
up,  as  far  as  he  could,  to  its  enjoyment.  The  Secre- 
tary of  War  (Stanton)  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  (Chase)  accompanied  the  President.  A 
most  interesting  account  of  the  expedition  is  given  by 
General  Viele,  who  was  a member  of  the  party  and 
thus  had  an  opportunity  to  observe  Lincoln  closely. 
“ When  on  the  afternoon  of  May  4,”  says  General 
Viele,  “ I was  requested  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to 
meet  him  within  an  hour  at  the  navy-yard,  with  the 
somewhat  mysterious  caution  to  speak  to  no  one  of 
my  movements,  I had  no  conception  whatever  of  the 
purpose  or  intention  of  the  meeting.  It  was  quite  dark 
when  I arrived  there  simultaneously  with  the  Secre- 
tary, who  led  the  way  to  the  wharf  on  the  Potomac, 
to  which  a steamer  was  moored  that  proved  to  be  a 
revenue  cutter,  the  ‘ Miami.’  We  went  on  board  and 
proceeded  at  once  to  the  cabin,  where  to  my  surprise 
I found  the  President  and  Mr.  Chase,  who  had  pre- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  387 


ceded  us.  The  vessel  immediately  got  under  way  and 
steamed  down  the  Potomac.  . . . After  supper  the 
table  was  cleared,  and  the  remainder  of  the  evening 
was  spent  in  a general  review  of  the  situation,  which 
lasted  long  into  the  night.  The  positions  of  the  differ- 
ent armies  in  the  field,  the  last  reports  from  their 
several  commanders,  the  probabilities  and  possibilities 
as  they  appeared  to  each  member  of  the  group,  to- 
gether with  many  other  topics,  relevant  and  irrevelant, 
were  discussed,  interspersed  with  the  usual  number  of 
anecdotes  from  the  never-failing  supply  with  which 
the  President’s  mind  was  stored.  It  was  a most  in- 
teresting study  to  see  these  men  relieved  for  the  mo- 
ment from  the  surroundings  of  their  onerous  official 
duties.  The  President,  of  course,  was  the  centre  of 
the  group  — kind,  genial,  thoughtful,  tender-hearted, 
magnanimous  Abraham  Lincoln ! It  was  difficult  to 
know  him  without  knowing  him  intimately,  for  he  was 
as  guileless  and  single-hearted  as  a child ; and  no 
man  ever  knew  him  intimately  who  did  not  recognize 
and  admire  his  great  abilities,  both  natural  and  ac- 
quired, his  large-heartedness  and  sincerity  of  purpose. 
. . . He  would  sit  for  hours  during  the  trip,  repeating 
passages  of  Shakespeare’s  plays,  page  after  page  of 
Browning,  and  whole  cantos  of  Byron.  His  inex- 
haustible stock  of  anecdotes  gave  to  superficial  minds 
the  impression  that  he  was  not  a thoughtful  and  re- 
flecting man;  whereas  the  fact  was  directly  the  reverse. 
These  anecdotes  formed  no  more  a part  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln’s mind  than  a smile  forms  a part  of  the  face. 
They  came  unbidden,  and,  like  a forced  smile,  were 
often  employed  to  conceal  a depth  of  anxiety  in  his 
own  heart,  and  to  dissipate  the  care  that  weighed 
upon  the  minds  of  his  associates.  Both  Mr.  Chase 
and  Mr.  Stanton  were  under  great  depression  of 
spirits  when  we  started,  and  Mr.  Chase  remarked  with 


388  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


a good  deal  of  seriousness  that  he  had  forgotten  to 
write  a very  important  letter  before  leaving.  It  was 
too  late  to  remedy  the  omission,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  at 
once  drove  the  thought  of  it  from  his  mind  by  telling 
him  that  a man  was  sometimes  lucky  in  forgetting  to 
write  a letter,  for  he  seldom  knew  what  it  contained 
until  it  appeared  again  some  day  to  confront  him  with 
an  indiscreet  word  or  expression ; and  then  he  told 
a humorous  story  of  a sad  catastrophe  that  happened 
in  a family,  which  was  ascribed  to  something  that 
came  in  a letter  — a catastrophe  so  far  beyond  the 
region  of  possibility  that  it  set  us  all  laughing,  and 
Mr.  Chase  lost  his  anxious  look.  That  reminded  Mr. 
Stanton  of  the  dilemma  he  had  been  placed  in,  just 
before  leaving,  by  the  receipt  of  a telegram  from  Gen- 
eral Mitchell,  who  was  in  Northern  Alabama.  The 
telegram  was  indistinct,  and  could  not  be  clearly 
understood;  there  was  no  time  for  further  explana- 
tion, and  yet  an  immediate  answer  was  required ; so 
the  Secretary  took  the  chances  and  answered  back,  4 All 
right;  go  ahead.’  4 Now,  Mr.  President,’  said  he,  4 if 
I have  made  a mistake,  I must  countermand  my  in- 
structions.’ 4 1 suppose  you  meant,’  said  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, 4 that  it  was  all  right  if  it  was  good  for  him, 
and  all  wrong  if  it  was  not.  That  reminds  me,’  said 
he,  4 of  a story  about  a horse  that  was  sold  at  the 
cross-roads  near  where  I once  lived.  The  horse  was 
supposed  to  be  fast,  and  quite  a number  of  people 
were  present  at  the  time  appointed  for  the  sale.  A 
small  boy  was  employed  to  ride  the  horse  backward 
and  forward  to  exhibit  his  points.  One  of  the  would-be 
buyers  followed  the  boy  down  the  road  and  asked  him 
confidentially  if  the  horse  had  a splint.  4 Well,  mister,’ 
said  the  boy,  4 if  it ’s  good  for  him  he ’s  got  it,  but 
if  it  is  n’t  good  for  him  he  has  n’t.’  4 And  that ’s  the 

position,’  said  the  President,  4 you  seem  to  have  left 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  389 


General  Mitchell  in.  Well,  Stanton,  I guess  he  ’ll  come 
out  right ; but  at  any  rate  you  can’t  help  him 
now.’  . . . Mr.  Lincoln  always  had  a pleasant  word 
to  say  the  last  thing  at  night  and  the  first  thing  in 
the  morning.  He  was  always  the  first  one  to  awake, 
although  not  the  first  to  rise.  The  day-time  was 
spent  principally  upon  the  quarter-deck,  and  the 
President  entertained  us  with  numerous  anecdotes  and 
incidents  of  his  life,  of  the  most  interesting  character. 
Few  were  aware  of  the  physical  strength  possessed  by 
Mr.  Lincoln.  In  muscular  power  he  was  one  in  a 
thousand.  One  morning,  while  we  were  sitting  on 
deck,  he  saw  an  axe  in  a socket  on  the  bulwarks,  and 
taking  it  up,  he  held  it  at  arm’s  length  at  the  extrem- 
ity of  the  helve  with  his  thumb  and  forefinger,  con- 
tinuing to  hold  it  there  for  a number  of  minutes.  The 
most  powerful  sailors  on  board  tried  in  vain  to  imitate 
him.  Mr.  Lincoln  said  he  could  do  this  when  he  was 
eighteen  years  of  age,  and  had  never  seen  a day  since 
that  time  when  he  could  not.1 

“ It  was  late  in  the  evening,”  continues  General 
Viele,  “ when  we  arrived  at  Fortress  Monroe.  . . . 
Answering  the  hail  of  the  guard-boats,  we  made  a 
landing,  and  the  Secretary  of  War  immediately  des- 
patched a messenger  for  General  Wool,  the  commander 

1 Lincoln  never  lost  his  interest  in  exhibitions  of  physical  strength,  and 
involuntarily  he  always  compared  its  possessor  with  himself.  On  one 
occasion  — it  was  in  1859  — he  was  asked  to  make  an  address  at  the 
State  Fair  of  Wisconsin,  which  was  held  at  Milwaukee.  Among  the 
attractions  was  a “strong  man”  who  went  through  the  usual  perfor- 
mance of  tossing  iron  balls  and  letting  them  roll  back  down  his  arms, 
lifting  heavy  weights,  etc.  Apparently  Lincoln  had  never  seen  such  a 
combination  of  strength  and  agility  before.  He  was  greatly  interested. 
Every  now  and  then  he  gave  vent  to  the  ejaculation,  “By  George!  By 
George!”  After  the  speech  was  over.  Governor  Hoyt  introduced  him 
to  the  athlete;  and  as  Lincoln  stood  looking  down  at  him  from  his  great 
height,  evidently  pondering  that  one  so  small  could  be  so  strong,  he 
suddenly  gave  utterance  to  one  of  his  quaint  speeches.  “Why,”  he  said, 
“I  could  lick  salt  off  the  top  of  your  hat!” 


390  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


of  the  fort;  on  whose  arrival  it  was  decided  to  con- 
sult at  once  with  Admiral  Goldsborough,  the  com- 
mander of  the  fleet,  whose  flag-ship,  the  ‘ Minnesota,’ 
a superb  model  of  naval  architecture,  lay  a short  dis- 
tance off  the  shore.  The  result  of  this  conference  was 
a plan  to  get  up  an  engagement  the  next  day  between 
the  4 Merrimac  ’ and  the  ‘ Monitor,’  so  that  during  the 
fight  the  ‘ Vanderbilt,’  which  had  been  immensely 
strengthened  for  the  purpose,  might  put  on  all  steam 
and  run  her  down.  Accordingly,  the  next  morning, 
the  President  and  party  went  over  to  the  Rip  Raps 
to  see  the  naval  combat.  The  ‘ Merrimac  ’ moved  out 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Elizabeth  river,  quietly  and 
steadily,  just  as  she  had  come  out  only  a few  weeks 
before  when  she  had  sunk  the  ‘ Congress  ’ and  the 
* Cumberland.’  She  wore  an  air  of  defiance  and  de- 
termination even  at  that  distance.  The  £ Monitor  ’ 
moved  up  and  waited  for  hex*.  All  the  other  vessels 
got  out  of  the  way  to  give  the  ‘Vanderbilt’  and  the 
‘ Minnesota  ’ room  to  bear  down  upon  the  rebel  terror 
as  soon  as  she  should  clear  the  coast  line.  It  was  a 
calm  Sabbath  morning,  and  the  air  was  still  and  tran- 
quil. Suddenly  the  stillness  was  broken  by  the  cannon 
from  the  vessels  and  the  great  guns  from  the  Rip 
Raps,  that  filled  the  air  with  sulphurous  smoke  and 
a terrific  noise  that  reverberated  from  the  fortress 
and  the  opposite  shore  like  thunder.  The  firing  was 
maintained  for  several  hours,  but  all  to  no  purpose; 
the  ‘ Merrimac  ’ moved  sullenly  back  to  her  position. 
It  was  determined  that  night  that  on  the  following 
day  vigorous  offensive  operations  should  be  under- 
taken. The  whole  available  naval  force  was  to  bom- 
bard Sewall’s  Point,  and  under  cover  of  the  bombard- 
ment the  available  troops  from  Fortress  Monroe  were 
to  be  landed  at  that  point  and  move  on  Norfolk.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  next  morning  a tremendous  cannon- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  391 


ading  of  Sewall’s  Point  took  place.  The  wooden  sheds 
at  that  place  were  set  on  fire  and  the  battery  was 
silenced.  The  ‘ Merrimac,’  coated  with  mail  and  lying 
low  in  the  water,  looked  on  but  took  no  part.  Night 
came  on,  and  the  cannonading  ceased.  It  was  so  evi-. 
dent  that  the  ‘ Merrimac  ’ intended  to  act  only  on  the 
defensive,  and  that  as  long  as  she  remained  where  she 
was  no  troops  could  be  landed  in  that  vicinity,  that 
they  were  ordered  to  disembark.  That  night  the  Presi- 
dent, with  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  went  over  on  the  ‘ Miami  ’ to  the  Vir- 
ginia shore,  and  by  the  light  of  the  moon  landed  on 
the  beach  and  walked  up  and  down  a considerable  dis- 
tance to  assure  himself  that  there  could  be  no  mistake 
in  the  matter.  How  little  the  Confederacy  dreamed 
what  a visitor  it  had  that  night  to  the  ‘ sacred  soil.’  ” 
The  following  morning  an  advance  was  made  upon 
Norfolk  by  the  route  proposed  by  General  Viele.  The 
attempt  was  successful,  and  before  night  our  forces 
were  in  control  of  the  captured  city.  Some  time  after 
midnight,  as  General  Viele  records,  “ with  a shock  that 
shook  the  city,  and  with  an  ominous  sound  that  could 
not  be  mistaken,  the  magazine  of  the  * Merrimac  ’ was 
exploded,  the  vessel  having  been  cut  off  from  supplies 
and  deserted  by  the  crew;  and  thus  this  most  formid- 
able engine  of  destruction,  that  had  so  long  been  a 
terror,  not  only  to  Hampton  Roads,  but  to  the  Atlan- 
tic coast,  went  to  her  doom,  a tragic  and  glorious 
finale  to  the  trip  of  the  ‘ Miami.’  ” 

Secretary  Chase  had  accompanied  the  expedition 
against  Norfolk,  returning  to  Fortress  Monroe  with 
General  Wool  immediately  after  the  surrender  of  the 
city.  The  scene  which  ensued  on  the  announcement 
of  the  good  tidings  they  brought  back  to  the  anxious 
parties  awaiting  news  of  them  was  thus  described  by 
the  President  himself : “ Chase  and  Stanton  had  ac- 


392  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


companied  me  to  Fortress  Monroe.  While  we  were 
there,  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  for  an  attack  on 
Norfolk.  Chase  and  General  Wool  disappeared  about 
the  time  we  began  to  look  for  tidings  of  the  result, 
and  after  vainly  waiting  their  return  till  late  in  the 
evening,  Stanton  and  I concluded  to  retire.  My  room 
was  on  the  second  floor  of  the  Commandant’s  house,  and 
Stanton’s  was  below.  The  night  was  very  warm,  — 
the  moon  shining  brightly,  — and,  too  restless  to  sleep, 
I sat  for  some  time  by  the  table,  reading.  Suddenly 
hearing  footsteps,  I looked  out  of  the  window,  and  saw 
two  persons  approaching,  whom  I knew  by  their  rela- 
tive size  to  be  the  missing  men.  They  came  into  the 
passage,  and  I heard  them  rap  at  Stanton’s  door  and 
tell  him  to  get  up  and  come  upstairs.  A moment 
afterward  they  entered  my  room.  ‘ No  time  for  cere- 
mony, Mr.  President,’  said  General  Wool;  ‘Norfolk 
is  ours!  ’ Stanton  here  burst  in,  just  out  of  bed,  clad 
in  a long  night-gown  which  nearly  swept  the  floor, 
his  ear  catching,  as  he  crossed  the  threshold,  Wool’s 
last  words.  Perfectly  overjoyed,  he  rushed  at  the 
General,  whom  he  hugged  most  affectionately,  fairly 
lifting  him  from  the  floor  in  his  delight.  The  scene 
altogether  must  have  been  a comical  one,  though  at 
the  time  we  were  all  too  greatly  excited  to  take  much 
note  of  mere  appearances.” 

Lincoln’s  general  grasp  of  military  strategy,  and 
his  keen  understanding  of  the  specific  problems  con- 
fronting the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  the  critical  au- 
tumn of  1862,  are  well  indicated  in  the  following  com- 
munication to  General  McClellan: 

Executive  Mansion,  Washington, 

October  13,  1862. 

My  Dear  Sir:  — You  remember  my  speaking  to  you 
of  what  I called  your  over-cautiousness.  Are  you  not 
over-cautious  when  you  assume  that  you  cannot  do 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  393 


what  the  enemy  is  constantly  doing?  Should  you  not 
claim  to  be  at  least  his  equal  in  prowess,  and  act  upon 
the  claim? 

As  I understand,  you  telegraphed  General  Halleck 
that  you  cannot  subsist  your  army  at  Winchester  un- 
less the  railroad  from  Harper’s  Ferry  to  that  point 
be  put  in  working  order.  But  the  enemy  does  now 
subsist  his  army  at  Winchester,  at  a distance  nearly 
twice  as  great  from  railroad  transportation  as  you 
would  have  to  do,  without  the  railroad  last  named. 
He  now  wagons  from  Culpepper  Court-House,  which 
is  just  about  twice  as  far  as  you  would  have  to  do 
from  Harper’s  Ferry.  He  is  certainly  not  more  than 
half  as  well  provided  with  wagons  as  you  are.  I 
certainly  should  be  pleased  for  you  to  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  railroad  from  Harper’s  Ferry  to  Win- 
chester; but  it  wastes  all  the  remainder  of  autumn 
to  give  it  to  you,  and,  in  fact,  ignores  the  question  of 
time,  which  cannot  and  must  not  be  ignored. 

Again,  one  of  the  standard  maxims  of  war,  as  you 
know,  is,  “ to  operate  upon  the  enemy’s  communica- 
tions as  much  as  possible,  without  exposing  your  own.” 
You  seem  to  act  as  if  this  applies  against  you,  but 
cannot  apply  in  your  favor.  Change  positions  with 
the  enemy,  and  think  you  not  he  would  break  your 
communication  with  Richmond  within  the  next  twenty- 
four  hours?  You  dread  his  going  into  Pennsylvania. 
But  if  he  does  so  in  full  force,  he  gives  up  his  com- 
munications to  you  absolutely,  and  you  have  nothing 
to  do  but  to  follow  and  ruin  him;  if  he  does  so  with 
less  than  full  force,  fall  upon  and  beat  what  is  left 
behind  all  the  easier.  Exclusive  of  the  water  line,  you 
are  now  nearer  Richmond  than  the  enemy  is,  by  the 
route  that  you  can  and  he  must  take.  Why  can  you 
not  reach  there  before  him,  unless  you  admit  that  he 
is  more  than  your  equal  on  the  march?  His  route 
is  the  arc  of  a circle,  while  yours  is  the  chord.  The 
roads  are  as  good  on  yours  as  on  his. 

You  know  I desired,  but  did  not  order,  you  to  cross 


394  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


the  Potomac  below  instead  of  above  the  Shenandoah 
and  Blue  Ridge.  My  idea  was,  that  this  would  at  once 
menace  the  enemy’s  communications,  which  I would 
seize  if  he  would  permit.  If  he  should  move  north- 
ward, I would  follow  him  closely,  holding  his  com- 
munications. If  he  should  prevent  our  seizing  his 
communications,  and  move  toward  Richmond,  I would 
press  closely  to  him,  fight  him  if  a favorable  oppor- 
tunity should  present,  and  at  least  try  to  beat  him  to 
Richmond  on  the  inside  track.  I say  “ try,”  for  if  we 
never  try,  we  shall  never  succeed.  If  he  make  a stand 
at  Winchester,  moving  neither  north  nor  south,  I would 
fight  him  there,  on  the  idea  that  if  we  cannot  beat 
him  when  he  bears  the  wastage  of  coming  to  us,  we 
never  can  when  we  bear  the  wastage  of  going  to  him. 
This  proposition  is  a simple  truth,  and  is  too  impor- 
tant to  be  lost  sight  of  for  a moment.  In  coming 
to  us,  he  tenders  us  an  advantage  which  we  should  not 
waive.  We  should  not  so  operate  as  to  merely  drive 
him  away.  As  we  must  beat  him  somewhere,  or  fail 
finally,  we  can  do  it,  if  at  all,  easier  near  to  us  than 
far  away.  If  we  cannot  beat  the  enemy  where  he  now 
is,  we  never  can,  he  again  being  within  the  intrench- 
ments  of  Richmond.  Recurring  to  the  idea  of  going 
to  Richmond  on  the  inside  track,  the  facility  of  supply- 
ing from  the  side  away  from  the  enemy  is  remarkable, 
as  it  were,  by  the  different  spokes  of  a wheel,  ex- 
tending from  the  hub  toward  the  rim,  and  this  whether 
you  move  directly  by  the  chord,  or  on  the  inside  arc, 
hugging  the  Blue  Ridge  more  closely.  The  chord-line, 
as  you  see,  carries  you  by  Aldie,  Haymarket,  and 
Fredericksburg,  and  you  see  how  turnpikes,  railroads, 
and  finally  the  Potomac  by  Aquia  Creek,  meet  you  at 
all  points  from  Washington.  The  same,  only  the  lines 
lengthened  a little,  if  you  press  closer  to  the  Blue  Ridge 
part  of  the  way.  The  gaps  through  the  Blue  Ridge  I 
understand  to  be  about  the  following  distances  from 
Harper’s  Ferry,  to  wit:  Vestal’s,  five  miles;  Gregory’s, 
thirteen ; Snicker’s,  eighteen ; Ashby’s,  twenty-eight ; 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  395 


Manassas,  thirty-eight ; Chester,  forty-five ; and  Thorn- 
ton’s, fifty-three.  I should  think  it  preferable  to  take 
the  route  nearest  the  enemy,  disabling  him  to  make  an 
important  move  without  your  knowledge,  and  compel- 
ling him  to  keep  his  forces  together  for  dread  of  you. 
The  gaps  would  enable  you  to  attack  if  you  should 
wish.  For  a great  part  of  the  way  you  would  be  prac- 
tically between  the  enemy  and  both  Washington  and 
Richmond,  enabling  us  to  spare  you  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  troops  from  here.  When,  at  length,  running  to 
Richmond  ahead  of  him  enables  him  to  move  this  way, 
if  he  does  so,  turn  and  attack  him  in  the  rear.  But  I 
think  he  should  be  engaged  long  before  such  point  is 
reached.  It  is  all  easy  if  our  troops  march  as  -well  as 
the  enemy,  and  it  is  unmanly  to  say  they  cannot  do  it. 
This  letter  is  in  no  sense  an  order. 

Yours  truly,  A.  Lincoln. 

Major-General  McClellan. 

Throughout  the  entire  war  President  Lincoln  was 
always  keenly  solicitous  for  the  welfare  of  the  Union 
soldiers.  He  knew  that  upon  them  everything  de- 
pended ; and  he  felt  bound  to  them  not  only  by  official 
relations,  but  by  the  tenderer  ties  of  human  interest 
and  love.  In  all  his  proclamations  and  public  utter- 
ances he  gave  the  fullest  credit  to  the  brave  men  in  the 
field,  and  claimed  for  them  the  country’s  thanks  and 
gratitude.  His  sympathy  for  the  soldiers  was  as  tender 
as  that  of  a woman,  and  his  tears  were  ever  ready  to 
start  at  the  mention  of  their  hardships,  their  bravery, 
their  sufferings  and  losses.  Nothing  that  he  could  do 
was  left  undone  to  minister  to  their  comfort  in  field 
or  camp  or  hospital.  His  most  exacting  cares  were 
never  permitted  to  divert  his  thoughts  from  them,  and 
his  anxious  and  tender  sympathy  included  all  whom  they 
held  dear.  Said  Mr.  Riddle,  in  a speech  in  Congress 
in  1863:  “Let  not  the  distant  mother,  who  has  given 


396  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


up  a loved  one  to  fearful  death,  think  that  the  Presi- 
dent does  not  sympathize  with  her  sorrow,  and  'would 
not  have  been  glad  — oh,  how  glad  — to  so  shape  events 
as  to  spare  the  sacrifices.  And  let  not  fathers  and 
mothers  and  wives  anywhere  think  that  as  he  sees  the 
long  blue  regiments  of  brave  ones  marching  away,  step- 
ping to-  the  drum-beat,  he  does  not  contemplate  them 
and  feel  his  responsibility  as  he  thinks  how  many  of 
them  shall  go  to  nameless  graves,  unmarked  save  by 
the  down-looking  eyes  of  God’s  pitying  angels.”  The 
feeling  of  the  soldiers  toward  Lincoln  was  one  of  filial 
respect  and  love.  Fie  was  not  only  the  President,  the 
commander-in-chief  of  all  the  armies  and  navies  of  the 
United  States,  but  their  good  “ Father  Abraham,”  who 
loved  every  man,  even  the  humblest,  that  wore  the 
Union  blue. 

Of  Lincoln’s  personal  relations  with  the  soldiers, 
enough  interesting  anecdotes  could  be  collected  to  fill 
a volume.  He  saw  much  of  them  in  Washington,  as 
they  marched  through  that  city  on  their  way  to  the 
front,  or  returned  on  furlough  or  discharge,  or  filled 
the  overcrowded  hospitals  of  the  capital.  Often  they 
called  upon  him,  singly  or  with  companions ; and  he 
always  had  for  them  a word,  however  brief,  of  sym- 
pathy and  cheer.  He  was  always  glad  to  see  them  at 
the  White  House.  They  were  the  one  class  of  visitors 
who  seldom  came  to  ask  for  favors,  and  never  to 
pester  him  with  advice.  It  was  a real  treat  for  the 
harried  President  to  escape  from  the  politicians  and 
have  a quiet  talk  with  a private  soldier.  Among  the 
innumerable  petitioners  for  executive  clemency  or  favor, 
none  were  so  graciously  received  as  those  who  appeared 
in  behalf  of  soldiers.  It  was  half  a victory  to  say  that 
the  person  for  whom  the  favor  was  desired  was  a 
member  of  the  Union  army. 

As  he  wrote  the  pardon  of  a young  soldier,  sen- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  397 


tenced  to  be  shot  for  sleeping  while  on  sentinel  duty, 
the  President  remarked  to  a friend  standing  by : “I 
could  not  think  of  going  into  eternity  with  the  blood 
of  that  poor  young  man  on  my  hands.  It  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at  that  a boy  raised  on  a farm,  probably 
in  the  habit  of  going  to  bed  at  dark,  should,  when  re- 
quired to  watch,  fall  asleep ; and  I cannot  consent 
that  he  be  shot  for  such  an  act.”  The  youth  thus 
reprieved  was  afterwards  found  among  the  slain  on 
the  field  of  Fredericksburg,  with  a photograph  of  Lin- 
coln, on  which  he  had  written,  “ God  bless  President 
Lincoln,”  worn  nest  his  heart. 

Rev.  Newman  Hall,  of  London,  has  repeated  in  a 
sermon  an  anecdote  told  him  by  a Union  general. 
“ The  first  week  of  my  command,”  said  the  officer, 
“ there  were  twenty-four  deserters  sentenced  by  court 
martial  to  be  shot,  and  the  warrants  for  their  execu- 
tion were  sent  to  the  President  to  be  signed.  He  re- 
fused. I went  to  Washington  and  had  an  interview. 
I said:  ‘Mr.  President,  unless  these  men  are  made  an 
example  of,  the  army  itself  is  in  danger.  Mercy  to 
the  few  is  cruelty  to  the  many.’  He  replied : ‘ Mr. 
General,  there  are  already  too  many  weeping  widows 
in  the  United  States.  For  God’s  sake,  don’t  ask  me 
to  add  to  the  number,  for  I won't  do  it .’  ” 

It  came  to  the  knowledge  of  Lincoln  that  a widow 
living  in  Boston  — a Mrs.  Bixby — had  lost  five  sons 
in  the  service  of  their  country.  Without  delay  he  ad- 
dressed to  the  bereaved  mother  the  following  touching 
note : 

I have  been  shown  on  the  file  of  the  War  Department 
a statement  of  the  Adjutant-General  of  Massachusetts, 
that  you  are  the  mother  of  five  sons  who  have  died 
gloriously  on  the  field  of  battle.  I feel  how  weak  and 
fruitless  must  be  any  word  of  mine  which  should  at- 
tempt to  beguile  you  from  the  grief  of  a loss  so  over- 


398  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


whelming;  but  I cannot  refrain  from  tendering  to  you 
the  consolation  that  may  be  found  in  the  thanks  of  the 
Republic  they  died  to  save.  I pray  that  our  Heavenly 
Father  may  assuage  the  anguish  of  your  bereavements, 
and  leave  only  the  cherished  memory  of  the  loved  and 
lost,  and  the  solemn  pride  that  must  be  yours  to  have 
laid  so  costly  a sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of  freedom. 

Yours,  very  sincerely  and  respectfully, 

A.  Lincoln. 

A case  of  unusual  interest  is  that  of  Cyrus  Pringle, 
a Vermont  Quaker  who  was  drafted  into  the  military 
service  in  1863,  and  refused  to  serve  on  the  ground 
that  his  religion  and  his  conscience  would  not  permit 
him  to  bear  arms.  His  story,  as  recorded  in  his  diary, 
was  given  to  the  world  after  his  death  (“  Atlantic 
Monthly,”  February,  1913).  In  spite  of  his  protests, 
Pringle  was  taken  South  and  forced  to  wear  a uniform 
and  carry  a gun,  though  he  refused  to  use  it  or  even 
to  clean  it.  His  obstinacy,  as  it  was  supposed  to  be, 
caused  him  much  suffering,  sometimes  even  physical 
punishment,  all  of  which  he  bore  patiently,  believing 
that  if  he  was  steadfast  in  his  faith  relief  would  some- 
how come.  It  did  come,  but  not  until  — after  five 
months  of  hardship  and  distress  of  mind  and  body  — 
his  case,  with  that  of  other  Quakers,  finally  reached 
the  President.  “ I wrant  you  to  go  and  tell  Stanton,” 
said  Lincoln  to  the  gentleman  who  had  presented  the 
case  to  him,  “ that  it  is  my  wish  that  all  those  young 
men  be  sent  home  at  once.”  The  gentleman  went  to 
Stanton  with  the  message,  but  Stanton  was  unwilling 
to  obey  it.  While  they  were  arguing  the  matter,  the 
President  entered  the  room.  “ It  is  my  urgent  •wish,'" 
said  he.  Stanton  yielded,  and  the  unfortunate  Quakers 
were  given  permission  to  return  to  their  homes  — none 
too  soon  to  save  the  life  of  Pringle,  who  records  in  his 
diary:  “Upon  my  arrival  in  New  York  I was  seized 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  399 


with  delirium,  from  which  I only  recovered  after  many 
weeks,  through  the  mercy  and  favor  of  Him  who  in 
all  this  trial  had  been  our  guide  and  strength  and 
comfort.” 

Anything  that  savored  of  the  wit  and  humor  of  the 
soldiers  was  especially  relished  by  Lincoln.  Any  inci- 
dent that  showed  that  “ the  boys  ” were  mirthful  and 
jolly  amidst  their  privations  seemed  to  commend  itself 
to  him.  There  was  a story  of  a soldier  in  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  carried  to  the  rear  of  battle  with  both 
legs  shot  off,  who,  seeing  a pie-woman  hovei'ing  about, 
asked,  “ Say,  old  lady,  are  them  pies  sewed  or  pegged?  ” 
And  there  was  another  one  of  a soldier  at  the  battle 
of  Chancellorsville,  whose  regiment,  waiting  to  be  called 
into  the  fight,  was  taking  coffee.  The  hero  of  the  story 
put  to  his  lips  a crockery  mug  which  he  had  carried, 
with  infinite  care,  through  several  campaigns.  A stray 
bullet,  just  missing  the  coffee-drinker’s  head,  dashed 
the  mug  into  fragments  and  left  only  its  handle  on  his 
finger.  Turning  his  head  in  that  direction,  the  soldier 
angrily  growled,  “Johnny,  you  can’t  do  that  again!” 
Lincoln,  relating  these  two  stories  together,  said,  “ It 
seems  as  if  neither  death  nor  danger  could  quench  the 
grim  humor  of  the  American  soldier.” 

A juvenile  “ brigadier  ” from  New  York,  with  a small 
detachment  of  cavalry,  having  imprudently  gone  within 
the  rebel  lines  near  Fairfax  Court  House,  was  captured 
by  “ guerillas.”  Upon  the  fact  being  reported  to 
Lincoln,  he  said  that  he  was  very  sorry  to  lose  the 
horses.  “What  do  you  mean?”  inquired  his  inform- 
ant. “Why,”  rejoined  the  President,  “I  can  make  a 
‘ brigadier  ’ any  day ; but  those  horses  cost  the  gov- 
ernment a hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  a head ! ” 

Lincoln  was  especially  fond  of  a joke  at  the  expense 
of  some  high  military  or  civil  dignitary.  He  was 
intensely  amused  by  a story  told  by  Secretary  Stanton, 


400  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


of  a trip  made  by  him  and  General  Foster  up  the  Broad 
river  in  North  Carolina,  in  a tug-boat,  when,  reaching 
our  outposts  on  the  river  bank,  a Federal  picket  yelled 
out,  “ Who  have  you  got  on  board  that  tug?  ” The 
severe  and  dignified  answer  was,  “ The  Secretary  of 
War  and  Major-General  Foster.”  Instantly  the  picket 
roared  back:  “We’ve  got  Major-Generals  enough  up 
here  — why  don't  you  bring  us  up  some  hardtack?  ” 

On  one  occasion,  when  the  enemy  were  threatening 
the  defenses  of  Washington,  the  President  made  a per- 
sonal visit  to  the  men  in  the  trenches,  for  the  purpose, 
as  he  stated,  of  “ encouraging  the  boys.”  He  wyalked 
about  among  them,  telling  them  to  hold  their  ground 
and  he  would  soon  give  them  reinforcements.  His 
presence  had  a most  inspiring  effect,  and  the  trenches 
were  held  by  a few  hundred  soldiers  of  the  Invalid 
Corps  until  the  promised  help  came  and  the  enemy 
withdrew. 

On  a visit  to  City  Point,  Lincoln  called  upon  the 
head  surgeon  at  that  place  and  said  he  wished  to  visit 
all  the  hospitals  under  his  charge.  The  surgeon  asked 
if  he  knew  what  he  was  undertaking;  there  were  five 
or  six  thousand  soldiers  at  that  place,  and  it  would 
be  quite  a tax  upon  his  strength  to  visit  all  the  wards. 
Lincoln  answered,  with  a smile,  that  he  guessed  he  was 
equal  to  the  task;  at  any  rate  he  would  try,  and  go 
as  far  as  he  could;  he  should  never,  probably,  see  the 
boys  again,  and  he  wanted  them  to  know  that  he  ap- 
preciated what  they  had  done  for  their  country.  Find- 
ing it  useless  to  try  to  dissuade  him,  the  surgeon  began 
his  rounds  with  the  President,  who  walked  from  bed 
to  bed,  extending  his  hand  and  saying  a few  words  of 
sympathy  to  some,  making  kind  inquiries  of  others, 
and  welcomed  by  all  with  the  heartiest  cordiality.  After 
some  hours  the  tour  of  the  various  hospitals  was  made, 
and  Lincoln  returned  with  the  surgeon  to  his  office. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  401 


They  had  scarcely  entered,  however,  when  a messenger 
came  saying  that  one  ward  had  been  overlooked,  and 
“ the  boys  ” wanted  to  see  the  President.  The  sur- 
geon, who  was  thoroughly  tired,  and  knew  Lincoln 
must  be,  tried  to  dissuade  him  from  going;  but  the 
good  man  said  he  must  go  back ; “ the  boys  ” would  be 
so  disappointed.  So  he  went  with  the  messenger,  ac- 
companied by  the  surgeon,  shook  hands  with  the  grati- 
fied soldiers,  and  then  returned  to  the  office.  The  sur- 
geon expressed  the  fear  that  the  President’s  arm  would 
be  lamed  with  so  much  hand-shaking,  saying  that  it 
certainly  must  ache.  Lincoln  smiled,  and  saying  some- 
thing about  his  “ strong  muscles,”  stepped  out  at  the 
open  door,  took  up  a very  large  heavy  axe  which  lay 
there  by  a log  of  wood,  and  chopped  vigorously  for  a 
few  moments,  sending  the  chips  flying  in  all  directions ; 
and  then,  pausing,  he  extended  his  right  arm  to  its 
full  length,  holding  the  axe  out  horizontally,  without 
its  even  quivering  as  he  held  it.  Strong  men  who  looked 
on  — men  accustomed  to  manual  labor  — could  not 
hold  the  axe  in  that  position  for  a moment. 

In  summer  Lincoln’s  favorite  home  was  at  “ The 
Soldiers’  Rest,”  a place  a few  miles  out  of  Washing- 
ton, on  the  Maryland  side,  where  old  and  disabled 
soldiers  of  the  regular  army  found  a refuge.  It  was 
a lovely  spot,  situated  on  a beautifully  wooded  hill, 
reached  by  a winding  road,  shaded  by  thick-set 
branches.  On  his  way  there  he  often  passed  long  lines 
of  ambulances,  laden  with  the  suffering  victims  of  a 
recent  battle.  A friend  who  met  him  on  such  an  oc- 
casion, says : “ When  I met  the  President,  his  attitude 
and  expression  spoke  the  deepest  sadness.  He  paused, 
and,  pointing  his  hand  towards  the  wounded  men,  he 
said:  ‘Look  yonder  at  those  poor  fellows.  I cannot 
bear  it ! This  suffering,  this  loss  of  life,  is  dreadful ! ’ 
Recalling  a letter  he  had  written  years  before  to  a 


402  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


suffering  friend  whose  grief  he  had  sought  to  console, 
I reminded  him  of  the  incident,  and  asked  him : 4 Do 
you  remember  writing  to  your  sorrowing  friend  these 
words : “ And  this  too  shall  pass  away.  Never  fear. 
Victory  will  come.”  ’ ‘ Yes,’  replied  he,  ‘ victory  will 

come,  but  it  comes  slowly .’  ” 


CHAPTER  XX 


Lincoln  and  McClellan  — The  Peninsular  Campaign  of  1862  — Impa- 
tience with  McClellan’s  Delay  — Lincoln  Defends  McClellan  from 
Unjust  Criticism  — Some  Harrowing  Experiences  — McClellan 
Recalled  from  the  Peninsula  — His  Troops  Given  to  General  Pope 
— Pope's  Defeat  at  Manassas  — A Critical  Situation  — McClellan 
again  in  Command  — Lincoln  Takes  the  Responsibility  — McClel- 
lan’s Account  of  his  Reinstatement  — The  Battle  of  Antietam  — 
The  President  Vindicated  — Again  Dissatisfied  with  McClellan  — 
Visits  the  Army  in  the  Field  — The  President  in  the  Saddle  — Cor- 
respondence between  Lincoln  and  McClellan  — McClellan’s  Final 
Removal  — Lincoln’s  Summing-up  of  McClellan  — McClellan’s 
“Body-guard.” 

PRESIDENT  LINCOLN’S  relations  with  no  other 
person  have  been  so  much  discussed  as  those  with 
General  McClellan.  Volumes  have  been  written  on  this 
subject;  many  heated  and  intemperate  words  have  been 
uttered  and  wrong  conclusions  reached.  Whatever  de- 
fects may  have  marked  McClellan’s  qualities  as  a sol- 
dier, he  must  remain  historically  one  of  the  most  con- 
spicuous figures  of  the  war.  He  organized  the  largest 
and  most  important  of  the  Union  armies,  and  was  its 
first  commander  in  the  field.  He  was  one  of  the  two  out 
of  the  five  commanders  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
before  Grant,  who  led  that  army  to  victory;  the  other 
three  having  led  it  only  to  disastrous  defeat.  Great 
things  were  expected  of  him ; and  when  he  failed  to 
realize  the  extravagant  expectations  of  those  who 
thought  the  war  should  be  ended  within  a year,  he  re- 
ceived equally  extravagant  condemnation.  It  is  notice- 
able that  this  condemnation  came  chiefly  from  civilians 
— from  politicians,  from  Congress,  from  the  press : 
not  the  best  judges  of  military  affairs.  His  own  army 


404  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


— the  men  who  were  with  him  on  the  battlefield  and 
risked  their  lives  and  their  cause  under  his  leadership  — 
never  lost  faith  in  him.  Of  all  the  commanders  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  he  was  the  one  most  believed  in 
by  his  troops.  Even  after  his  removal,  at  a grand  re- 
view of  the  army  by  the  President,  after  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  it  was  not  for  the  new  commander, 
Burnside,  but  the  old  commander,  McClellan,  that  the 
troops  gave  their  heartiest  cheers.  It  is  worth  remem- 
bering also  that  the  war  was  not  ended  until  two  and  a 
half  years  after  McClellan’s  retirement,  and  until  trial 
after  trial  had  been  made  and  failure  after  failure  had 
been  met  in  the  effort  to  find  a successful  leader  for  our 
armies.  The  initial  task  of  organization,  of  creating  a 
great  army  in  the  field,  fell  upon  him  — a task  so  well 
performed  that  General  Meade,  his  first  efficient  suc- 
cessor, said,  “ Had  there  been  no  McClellan  there  could 
have  been  no  Grant,  for  the  army  [organization]  made 
no  essential  improvements  under  any  of  his  successors.” 
And  Grant,  the  last  and  finally  victorious  of  these  suc- 
cessors — who  was  at  one  time  criticized  as  being  “ as 
great  a discouragement  as  McClellan  ” — recorded  in 
his  Memoirs  the  conviction  (already  quoted  in  these 
pages)  that  the  conditions  under  which  McClellan 
worked  were  fatal  to  success,  and  that  he  him- 
self could  not  have  succeeded  in  his  place  under  those 
conditions. 

It  is  not  in  the  province  of  the  present  narrative 
to  enter  into  a consideration  of  the  merits  or  demerits 
of  McClellan  as  a soldier,  but  to  treat  of  his  personal 
relations  with  President  Lincoln.  Between  the  two  men, 
notwithstanding  many  sharp  differences  of  opinion  and 
of  policy,  there  seems  to  have  been  a feeling  of  warm 
personal  friendship  and  sincere  respect.  Now  that 
both  have  passed  beyond  the  reach  of  earthly  praise 
or  blame,  we  may  well  honor  their  memory  and  credit 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  405 


each  with  having  done  the  best  he  could  to  serve  his 
country. 

McClellan  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
Union  armies  upon  the  retirement  of  the  veteran  Gen- 
eral Scott,  in  November  of  1861.  He  had  been  but  a 
captain  in  the  regular  army,  but  his  high  reputation 
and  brilliant  soldierly  qualities  had  led  to  his  being  sent 
abroad  to  study  the  organization  and  movements  of 
European  armies ; and  this  brought  him  into  promi- 
nence as  a military  man.  It  was  soon  after  McClellan 
took  command  that  President  Lincoln  began  giving 
close  personal  attention  to  the  direction  of  military 
affairs.  He  formed  a plan  of  operations  against  the 
Confederate  army  defending  Richmond,  which  differed 
entirely  from  the  plan  pi’oposed  by  McClellan.  The 
President’s  plan  was,  in  effect,  to  repeat  the  Bull  Run 
expedition  by  moving  against  the  enemy  in  Virginia  at 
or  near  Manassas.  McClellan  preferred  a transference 
of  the  army  to  the  region  of  the  lower  Chesapeake, 
thence  moving  up  the  Peninsula  by  the  shortest  land 
route  to  Richmond.  (This  was  a movement,  it  may 
be  remarked,  which  was  finally  carried  out  before  Rich- 
mond fell  in  1865.)  The  President  discussed  the  rela- 
tive merits  of  the  two  plans  in  the  following  frank  and 
explicit  letter  to  McClellan: 

Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  D.  C., 

February  3,  1862. 

Major-General  McClellan. 

My  Dear  Sir  : You  and  I have  distinct  and  different 
plans  for  a movement  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac; 
yours  to  be  done  by  the  Chesapeake,  up  the  Rappa- 
hannock to  Urbana,  and  across  to  the  terminus  of  the 
railroad  on  the  York  river;  mine  to  move  directly  to 
a point  on  the  railroad  southwest  of  Manassas.  If 
you  will  give  me  satisfactory  answers  to  the  following 
questions,  I shall  gladly  yield  my  plan  to  yours : 


406  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


1st.  Does  jour  plan  Involve  a greatly  larger  ex- 
penditure of  time  and  money  than  mine? 

2d.  Wherein  is  a victory  more  certain  by  your  plan 
than  mine? 

3d.  Wherein  is  a victory  more  valuable  by  your  plan 
than  mine? 

4th.  In  fact,  would  it  not  be  less  valuable  in  this, 
that  it  would  break  no  great  line  of  the  enemy’s  com- 
munication, while  mine  would? 

5th.  In  case  of  a disaster,  would  not  a retreat  be 
more  difficult  by  your  plan  than  mine  ? 

Yours  truly,  Abraham  Lincoln. 

To  this  communication  McClellan  made  an  elaborate 
reply,  discussing  the  situation  very  fully,  and  answer- 
ing the  inquiries  apparently  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
President,  who  consented  to  the  plan  submitted  by 
McClellan  and  concurred  in  by  a council  of  his  division 
commanders,  by  which  the  base  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  should  be  transferred  from  Washington  to 
the  lower  Chesapeake.  Yet  Lincoln  must  have  had 
misgivings  in  the  matter,  for  some  weeks  later  he  wrote 
to  McClellan:  “ You  will  do  me  the  justice  to  remember 
I always  insisted  that  going  down  the  bay  in  search  of 
a field,  instead  of  fighting  at  or  near  Manassas,  was 
only  shifting,  and  not  surmounting,  a difficulty;  that 
we  would  find  the  same  enemy,  and  the  same  or  equal 
intrenchments,  at  either  place.” 

After  the  transfer  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to 
the  Peninsula  there  was  great  impatience  at  the  delays 
in  the  expected  advance  on  Richmond.  The  President 
shared  this  impatience,  and  his  despatches  to  McClellan 
took  an  urgent  and  imperative  though  always  friendly 
tone.  April  9 he  wrote:  “Your  despatches,  complain- 
ing that  you  are  not  properly  sustained,  while  they  do 
not  offend  me,  do  pain  me  very  much.  I suppose  the 
whole  force  which  has  gone  forward  for  you  is  with  you 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  407 

by  this  time.  And,  if  so,  I think  it  is  the  precise  time 
for  you  to  strike  a blow.  By  delay,  the  enemy  will 
relatively  gain  upon  you  — that  is,  he  will  gain  faster 
by  fortifications  and  reinforcements  than  you  can  by 
reinforcements  alone.  And  once  more  let  me  tell  you, 
it  is  indispensable  to  you  that  you  strike  a blow.  . . . 
I beg  to  assure  you  that  I have  never  written  to  you 
or  spoken  to  you  in  greater  kindness  of  feeling  than 
now,  nor  with  a fuller  purpose  to  sustain  you,  so  far 
as,  in  my  most  anxious  judgment,  I consistently  can. 
But  you  must  act.” 

While  Lincoln  was  thus  imperative  toward  Mc- 
Clellan, he  would  not  permit  him  to  be  unjustly  criti- 
cized. Considerable  ill-feeling  having  been  developed 
between  McClellan  and  Secretary  Stanton,  which  was 
made  worse  by  certain  meddlesome  persons  in  Wash- 
ington, the  President  took  occasion,  at  a public  meet- 
ing, to  express  his  views  in  these  frank  and  manly 
words : “ There  has  been  a very  wide-spread  attempt  to 
have  a quarrel  between  General  McClellan  and  the 
Secretary  of  War.  Now,  I occupy  a position  that  en- 
ables me  to  observe  that  these  two  gentlemen  are  not 
nearly  so  deep  in  the  quarrel  as  some  pretending  to  be 
their  friends.  General  McClellan’s  attitude  is  such 
that,  in  the  very  selfishness  of  his  nature,  he  cannot 
but  wish  to  be  successful,  as  I hope  he  will  be ; and  the 
Secretary  of  War  is  in  precisely  the  same  situation. 
If  the  military  commanders  in  the  field  cannot  be  suc- 
cessful, not  only  the  Secretary  of  War  but  myself,  for 
the  time  being  the  master  of  them  both,  cannot  but  be 
failures.  I know  General  McClellan  wishes  to  be  suc- 
cessful, and  I know  he  does  not  wish  it  any  more  than 
the  Secretary  of  War  wishes  it  for  him,  and  both  of 
them  together  no  more  than  I wish  it.  Sometimes  we 
have  a dispute  about  how  many  men  General  McClellan 
has  had,  and  those  who  would  disparage  him  say  he 


408  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


has  had  a very  large  number,  and  those  who  would  dis- 
parage the  Secretary  of  War  insist  that  General  Mc- 
Clellan has  had  a very  small  number.  The  basis  for 
this  is,  there  is  always  a wide  difference,  and  on  this 
occasion  perhaps  a wider  one  than  usual,  between  the 
grand  total  on  McClellan’s  rolls  and  the  men  actually 
fit  for  duty ; and  those  who  would  disparage  him  talk 
of  the  grand  total  on  paper,  and  those  who  would  dis- 
parage the  Secretary  of  War  talk  of  those  at  present 
fit  for  duty.  General  McClellan  has  sometimes  asked 
for  things  that  the  Secretary  of  War  did  not  give  him. 
General  McClellan  is  not  to  blame  for  asking  what  he 
wanted  and  needed,  and  the  Secretary  of  War  is  not  to 
blame  for  not  giving  when  he  had  none  to  give.” 

The  summer  of  1862  was  a sad  one  for  the  country, 
and  peculiarly  sad  for  Lincoln.  The  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac fought  battle  after  battle,  often  with  temporary 
successes,  but  without  apparent  substantial  results ; 
while  many  thousands  of  our  brave  soldiers  perished 
on  the  field,  or  filled  the  hospitals  from  the  fever- 
swamps  of  the  Chickahominy.  The  terrible  realities 
of  that  dreadful  summer,  and  their  strain  on  Lincoln, 
are  well  shown  in  the  following  incident : Colonel  Scott, 
of  a New  Hampshire  regiment,  had  been  ill,  and  his 
wife  nursed  him  in  the  hospital.  After  his  convales- 
cence, he  received  leave  of  absence,  and  started  for 
home ; but  by  a steamboat  collision  in  Hampton  Roads, 
his  noble  wife  was  drowned.  Colonel  Scott  reached 
Washington,  and  learning,  a few  days  later,  of  the 
recovery  of  his  wife’s  body,  he  requested  permission  of 
the  Secretary  of  War  to  return  for  it.  A great  battle 
was  imminent,  and  the  request  was  denied.  Colonel 
Scott  thereupon  sought  the  President.  It  was  Satur- 
day evening;  and  Lincoln,  worn  with  the  cares  and 
anxieties  of  the  week,  sat  alone  in  his  room,  coat  thrown 
off,  and  seemingly  lost  in  thought,  perhaps  pondering 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  409 


the  issue  of  the  coming  battle.  Silently  he  listened  to 
Colonel  Scott’s  sad  story;  then,  with  an  unusual  irri- 
tation, which  was  probably  a part  of  his  excessive 
weariness,  he  exclaimed : “ Am  I to  have  no  rest  ? Is 
there  no  hour  or  spot  when  or  where  I may  escape  these 
constant  calls?  Why  do  }rou  follow  me  here  with  such 
business  as  this?  Why  do  you  not  go  to  the  War- 
office,  where  they  have  charge  of  all  this  matter  of 
papers  and  transportation?  ” Colonel  Scott  told  of 
Mr.  Stanton’s  refusal ; and  the  President  continued : 
“ Then  probably  you  ought  not  to  go  down  the  river. 
Mr.  Stanton  knows  all  about  the  necessities  of  the 
hour;  he  knows  what  rules  are  necessary,  and  rules 
are  made  to  be  enforced.  It  would  be  wrong  for  me 
to  override  his  rules  and  decisions  in  cases  of  this  kind; 
it  might  work  disaster  to  important  movements.  And 
then,  you  ought  to  remember  that  I have  other  duties 
to  attend  to  — heaven  knows,  enough  for  one  man ! — 
and  I can  give  no  thought  to  questions  of  this  kind. 
Why  do  you  come  here  to  appeal  to  my  'humanity? 
Don’t  you  know  that  we  are  in  the  midst  of  war? 
That  suffering  and  death  press  upon  all  of  us?  That 
works  of  humanity  and  affection,  which  we  would  cheer- 
fully perform  in  days  of  peace,  are  all  trampled  upon 
and  outlawed  by  war?  That  there  is  no  room  left  for 
them?  There  is  but  one  duty  now — to  fight.  The 
only  call  of  humanity  now  is  to  conquer  peace  through 
unrelenting  warfare.  War,  and  war  alone,  is  the  duty 
of  all  of  us.  Your  wife  might  have  trusted  you  to  the 
care  which  the  Government  has  provided  for  its  sick 
soldiers.  At  any  rate,  you  must  not  vex  me  with  your 
family  troubles.  Why,  every  family  in  the  land  is 
crushed  with  sorrow;  but  they  must  not  each  come  to 
me  for  help.  I have  all  the  burden  I can  carry.  Go  to 
the  War  Department.  Your  business  belongs  there. 
If  they  cannot  help  you,  then  bear  your  burden,  as 


410  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


we  all  must,  until  this  war  is  over.  Everything  must 
yield  to  the  paramount  duty  of  finishing  the  war.” 
Colonel  Scott  withdrew,  crushed  and  overwhelmed.  The 
next  morning,  as  he  sat  in  his  hotel  pondering  upon  his 
troubles,  he  heard  a rap  at  his  door,  and  opening  it 
found  to  his  surprise  the  President  standing  before 
him.  Grasping  his  hands  impulsively  and  sympa- 
thetically, Lincoln  broke  out : “ My  dear  Colonel,  I 
was  a brute  last  night.  I have  no  excuse  for  my  con- 
duct. Indeed,  I was  weary  to  the  last  extent;  but  I 
had  no  right  to  treat  a man  with  rudeness  who  had 
offered  his  life  for  his  country,  much  more  a man  who 
came  to  me  in  great  affliction.  I have  had  a regretful 
night,  and  come  now  to  beg  your  forgiveness.”  He 
added  that  he  had  just  seen  Secretary  Stanton,  and 
all  the  details  were  arranged  for  sending  the  Colonel 
down  the  Potomac  and  recovering  the  body ; then, 
taking  him  in  his  carriage,  he  drove  to  the  steamer’s 
wharf,  where,  again  pressing  his  hand,  he  wished  him 
God-speed  on  his  sad  errand. 

Such  were  Lincoln’s  harrowing  experiences ; and 
thus  did  his  noble  and  sympathetic  nature  assert  itself 
over  his  momentary  weakness  and  depression. 

In  August  of  1862  General  McClellan  was  ordered 
to  withdraw  his  army  from  the  Peninsula.  “ With  a 
heavy  heart,”  says  McClellan,  “ I relinquished  the  posi- 
tion gained  at  the  cost  of  so  much  time  and  blood.” 
Without  being  removed  from  his  command,  his  troops 
were  taken  away  from  him  and  sent  to  join  General 
Pope,  who  had  been  placed  in  command  of  a consider- 
able force  in  Virginia,  for  the  purpose  of  trying  the 
President’s  favorite  plan  of  an  advance  on  Richmond 
by  way  of  Manassas.  Either  from  a confusion  of 
orders  or  a lack  of  zeal  in  executing  them,  the  Union 
forces  failed  to  co-operate ; and  Pope’s  expected  victory 
(Manassas,  August  30)  proved  a disastrous  and  hu- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  411 


miliating  defeat.  His  army  was  beaten  and  driven  back 
on  Washington  in  a rout  little  less  disgraceful  than 
that  of  Bull  Run  a year  before.  This  battle  came  to 
be  known  as  the  “ Second  Bull  Run.” 

Thus  the  autumn  of  1862  set  in  amidst  gloom,  dis- 
order, and  dismay.  Our  armies  in  and  around  the 
national  capital  were  on  the  defensive;  while  the  vic- 
torious Lee,  following  up  his  successes  at  Manassas, 
was  invading  Maryland  and  threatening  Washington 
and  the  North.  The  President  was  anxious ; the  Cabi- 
net and  Congress  were  alarmed.  The  troops  had  lost 
confidence  in  General  Pope,  and  there  was  practically 
no  one  in  chief  command.  The  situation  was  most 
critical;  but  Lincoln  faced  it,  as  he  always  did,  un- 
flinchingly. He  took  what  he  felt  to  be  the  wisest  and 
at  the  same  time  the  most  unpopular  step  possible 
under  the  circumstances : he  placed  McClellan  in  com- 
mand of  all  the  troops  in  and  around  Washington.  It 
was  a bold  act,  and  required  no  ordinary  amount  of 
moral  courage  and  self-reliance.  Outside  the  army, 
it  was  about  the  most  unpopular  thing  that  could  have 
been  done.  McClellan  was  disliked  by  all  the  members 
of  the  Cabinet  and  prominent  officials,  and  with  especial 
bitterness  by  Secretary  Stanton.  Secretary  Welles 
speaks,  in  his  Diary,  of  “ Stanton’s  implacable  hos- 
tility to  McClellan,”  and  records  his  belief  that  “ Stan- 
ton is  determined  to  destroy  McClellan.”  Welles  relates 
that  on  the  very  day  of  Pope’s  defeat  at  Manassas, 
Secretary  Stanton,  accompanied  by  Secretary  Chase, 
called  on  him  and  asked  him  to  join  in  signing  a com- 
munication to  the  President  demanding  McClellan’s 
immediate  dismissal  from  command  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  saying  all  the  members  of  the  Cabinet 
would  sign  it.  The  document  was  in  Stanton’s  hand- 
writing. Welles,  though  far  from  friendly  toward  Mc- 
Clellan, refused  to  sign  the  paper,  and  the  matter  was 


412  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


dropped.  Welles  adds  the  comment,  “ There  was  a 
fixed  determination  to  remove,  and,  if  possible,  to  dis- 
grace, McClellan.” 

When  it  was  rumored  in  Washington  that  McClellan 
was  to  be  reinstated,  everyone  was  thunderstruck.  A 
Cabinet  meeting  was  held  on  the  second  day  of  Sep- 
tember, at  which  the  President,  without  asking  any- 
one’s opinion,  announced  that  he  had  reinstated  Mc- 
Clellan. Regret  and  surprise  were  openly  expressed. 
Mr.  Stanton,  with  some  excitement,  remarked  that  no 
such  order  had  issued  from  the  War  Department.  The 
President  then  said,  with  great  calmness,  “ No,  Mr. 
Secretary,  the  order  was  mine,  and  I will  he  responsible 
for  it  to  the  country .”  He  added,  by  way  of  explana- 
tion, that,  with  a retreating  and  demoralized  army 
tumbling  in  upon  the  capital,  and  alarm  and  panic  in 
the  community,  something  had  to  be  done,  and  as  there 
did  not  appear  to  be  anyone  else  to  do  it  he  took  the 
responsibility  on  himself.  He  remarked  that  McClellan 
had  the  confidence  of  the  troops  beyond  any  other 
officer,  and  could,  under  the  circumstances,  more 
speedily  and  effectually  reorganize  them  and  put  them 
in  fighting  trim  than  any  other  general.  “ This  is 
what  is  now  wanted  most,”  said  he,  “ and  these  were 
my  reasons  for  placing  McClellan  in  command.” 

Perhaps  at  no  other  crisis  of  the  war  did  Lincoln’s 
strength  of  character  and  power  of  making  quick  and 
important  decisions  in  the  face  of  general  opposition, 
come  out  more  clearly  than  on  this  occasion.  Secre- 
tary Welles,  who  was  present  at  the  dramatic  and 
stormy  Cabinet  meeting  referred  to,  says : “ In  stating 
what  he  had  done,  the  President  was  deliberate,  but 
firm  and  decisive.  His  language  and  manner  were  kind 
and  affectionate,  especially  toward  two  of  the  members, 
who  were  greatly  disturbed;  but  every  person  present 
felt  that  he  was  truly  the  chief,  and  every  one  knew 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  113 


his  decision  was  as  fixed  and  unalterable  as  if  given 
out  with  the  imperious  command  and  determined  will 
of  Andrew  Jackson.  A long  discussion  followed,  clos- 
ing with  acquiescence  in  the  decision  of  the  President. 
In  this  instance  the  President,  unaided  by  others,  put 
forth  with  firmness  and  determination  the  executive 
will  — the  one-man  power  — against  the  temporary 
general  sense  of  the  community,  as  well  as  of  his  Cabi- 
net, two  of  whom,  it  has  been  generally  supposed,  had 
with  him  an  influence  almost  as  great  as  the  Secretary 
of  State.  They  had  been  ready  to  make  issue  and  re- 
sign their  places  unless  McClellan  was  dismissed;  but 
knowing  their  opposition,  and  in  spite  of  it  and  of  the 
general  dissatisfaction  in  the  community,  the  President 
had  in  that  perilous  moment  exalted  him  to  new  and 
important  trusts.” 

It  appears  from  the  statement  of  General  McClellan, 
made  shortly  before  his  death,  that  on  the  morning  of 
his  reinstatement  (before  the  Cabinet  meeting  just 
described)  the  President  visited  him  at  his  headquar- 
ters, near  Washington,  to  ask  if  he  would  again  assume 
command.  “ While  at  breakfast,  at  an  early  hour,” 
says  McClellan,  “ I received  a call  from  the  President, 
accompanied  by  General  Halleck.  The  President  in- 
formed me  that  Colonel  Kelton  had  returned  and  repre- 
sented the  condition  of  affairs  as  much  worse  than  I 
had  stated  to  Halleck  on  the  previous  day ; that  there 
were  30,000  stragglers  on  the  roads ; that  the  army 
was  entirely  defeated  and  falling  back  to  Washington 
in  confusion.  He  then  said  that  he  regarded  Washing- 
ton as  lost,  and  asked  me  if  I would,  under  the  circum- 
stances, consent  to  accept  command  of  all  the  forces. 
Without  a moment’s  hesitation,  and  without  making 
any  conditions  whatever,  I at  once  said  that  I would 
accept  the  command,  and  would  stake  my  life  that  I 
would  save  the  city.  Both  the  President  and  Halleck 


414  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


again  asserted  their  belief  that  it  was  impossible  to 
save  the  city,  and  I repeated  my  firm  conviction  that 
I could  and  would  save  it.  They  then  left,  the  Presi- 
dent verbally  placing  me  in  entire  command  of  the  city 
and  of  the  troops  falling  back  upon  it  from  the  front.” 

The  result  of  the  reappointment  of  McClellan  soon 
vindicated  the  wisdom  of  the  step.  He  possessed  the 
confidence  of  the  army  beyond  any  other  general  at 
that  time,  and  was  able  to  inspire  it  with  renewed  hope 
and  courage.  Leaving  Washington  on  the  7th  of 
September,  in  command  of  Pope’s  beaten  and  disinte- 
grated forces  which  he  had  to  reorganize  on  the  march, 
he  within  two  weeks  met  the  flushed  and  lately  vic- 
torious troops  of  Lee  and  Jackson  and  fought  the 
bloody  but  successful  battle  of  Antietam  (September 
17,  1862),  which  compelled  Lee  to  retreat  to  the  south- 
ern side  of  the  Potomac,  and  relieved  Washington  of 
any  immediate  danger. 

After  the  Antietam  campaign,  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  rested  awhile  from  its  exhausting  and  disor- 
ganizing labors.  Supplies  and  reinforcements  were 
necessary  before  resuming  active  operations.  This  de- 
lay  gave  rise  to  no  little  dissatisfaction  in  Washington, 
where  a clamor  arose  that  McClellan  should  have  fol- 
lowed up  his  successes  at  Antietam  by  immediately  pur- 
suing Lee  into  Virginia.  In  this  dissatisfaction  the 
President  shared  to  some  extent.  He  made  a personal 
visit  to  the  army  for  the  purpose  of  satisfying  himself 
of  its  condition.  Of  this  occasion  McClellan  says : 
“ On  the  first  day  of  October,  his  Excellency  the  Presi- 
dent honored  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  with  a visit, 
and  remained  several  days,  during  which  he  went 
through  the  different  encampments,  reviewed  the 
troops,  and  went  over  the  battle-field  of  South  Moun- 
tain and  Antietam.  I had  the  opportunity,  during 
this  visit,  to  describe  to  him  the  operations  of  the  army 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  415 


since  it  left  Washington,  and  gave  him  my  reasons  for 
not  following  the  enemy  after  he  recrossed  the 
Potomac.” 

Before  the  grand  review  that  was  to  be  made  by  the 
President,  some  of  McClellan’s  staff,  knowing  that  the 
General  was  a man  of  great  endurance  and  expertness 
in  the  saddle,  laughed  at  the  idea  of  Lincoln’s  attempt- 
ing to  keep  up  with  him  in  the  severe  ordeal  of  “ riding 
down  the  lines.”  “ They  rather  hinted,”  says  a nar- 
rator, “ that  the  General  would  move  somewhat  rapidly, 
to  test  Mr.  Lincoln’s  capacity  as  a rider.  There  were 
those  on  the  field,  however,  who  had  seen  Mr.  Lincoln 
in  the  saddle  in  Illinois ; and  they  were  confident  of  his 
staying  powers.  A splendid  black  horse,  very  spirited, 
was  selected  for  the  President  to  ride.  When  the  time 
came,  Mr.  Lincoln  walked  up  to  the  animal,  and  the 
instant  he  seized  the  bridle  to  mount,  it  was  evident 
to  horsemen  that  he  £ knew  his  business.’  He  had  the 
animal  in  hand  at  once.  No  sooner  was  he  in  the  saddle 
than  the  coal-black  steed  began  to  prance  and  whirl 
and  dance  as  if  he  was  proud  of  his  burden.  But  the 
President  sat  as  unconcerned  and  fixed  to  the  saddle  as 
if  he  and  the  horse  were  one.  The  test  of  endurance 
soon  came.  McClellan,  with  his  magnificent  staff,  ap- 
proached the  President,  who  joined  them,  and  away 
they  dashed  to  a distant  part  of  the  field.  The  artil- 
lery began  to  thunder,  the  drums  beat,  and  the  bands 
struck  up  ‘ Hail  to  the  Chief,’  while  the  troops  cheered. 
Mr.  Lincoln,  holding  the  bridle-rein  in  one  hand,  lifted 
his  tall  hat  from  his  head,  and  much  of  the  time  held 
it  in  the  other  hand.  Grandly  did  Lincoln  receive  the 
salute,  appearing  as  little  disturbed  bv  the  dashing 
movements  of  the  proud-spirited  animal  as  if  he  had 
passed  through  such  an  ordeal  with  the  same  creature 
many  times  before.  Next  came  a further  test  of  en- 
durance — a long  dash  over  very  rough  untraveled 


416  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


ground,  with  here  and  there  a ditch  or  a hole  to  be 
jumped  or  a siding  to  be  passed.  But  Mr.  Lincoln 
kept  well  up  to  McClellan,  who  made  good  time. 
Finally,  the  ‘ riding  down  the  lines  ’ was  performed, 
amidst  the  flaunting  of  standards,  the  beating  of  drums, 
the  loud  cheering  of  the  men  and  rapid  discharges  of 
artillery,  startling  even  the  best-trained  horses.  Lin- 
coln sat  easily  to  the  end,  when  he  wheeled  his  horse 
into  position  to  witness  the  vast  columns  march  in 
review.  McClellan  was  surprised  at  so  remarkable  a 
display  of  horsemanship.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a great 
lover  of  the  horse,  and  a skilled  rider.  His  awkward- 
ness of  form  did  not  show  in  the  saddle.  He  always 
looked  well  when  mounted.” 

After  the  President’s  return  to  Washington  he  began 
urging  McClellan  to  resume  active  operations ; desir- 
ing him  to  “ cross  the  Potomac,  and  give  battle  to  the 
enemy  or  drive  him  south.”  On  the  13th  of  October 
he  addressed  to  him  the  long  letter  quoted  at  the  end 
of  the  preceding  chapter.  Subsequent  communications 
from  the  President  to  McClellan  showed  more  and  more 
impatience.  On  the  25th  he  telegraphed:  “ I have  just 
read  your  despatch  about  sore-tongue  and  fatigued 
horses.  Will  you  pardon  me  for  asking  what  the  horses 
of  your  army  have  done  since  the  battle  of  Antietam 
that  fatigues  anything?  ” And  the  next  day,  after 
receiving  McClellan’s  answer  to  his  inquiry,  he  re- 
sponded: “ Most  certainly  I intend  no  injustice  to  any- 
one, and  if  I have  done  any  I deeply  regret  it.  To 
be  told,  after  more  than  five  weeks’  total  inaction  of 
the  army,  and  during  which  period  we  had  sent  to 
that  army  every  fresh  horse  we  possibly  could,  amount- 
ing in  the  whole  to  7,918,  that  the  cavalry  horses  were 
too  much  fatigued  to  move,  presented  a very  cheer- 
less, almost  hopeless,  prospect  for  the  future,  and  it 
may  have  forced  something  of  impatience  into  my 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  417 


despatches.  If  not  recruited  and  rested  then,  when 
could  they  ever  be?  I suppose  the  river  is  rising,  and 
I am  glad  to  believe  you  are  crossing.”  But  McClellan 
did  not  cross;  his  preparations  for  a new  campaign 
were  not  yet  complete;  and  the  President,  at  last 
losing  patience,  removed  him  from  command,  and  put 
Burnside  in  his  place,  November  5,  1862.  And  a dis- 
astrous step  this  proved  to  be.  Burnside  was  under 
peremptory  orders  from  Washington  to  move  imme- 
diately against  the  Confederate  forces.  The  result  was 
the  ill-advised  attack  upon  Fredericksburg  (December 
12,  1862)  and  Burnside’s  bloody  repulse.  The  move- 
ment was  made  against  the  judgment  of  the  army  offi- 
cers then,  and  has  been  generally  condemned  by  military 
critics  since.  Secretary  Welles  thus  guardedly  com- 
mented upon  it  in  his  Diary : “ It  appears  to  me  a 
mistake  to  fight  the  enemy  in  so  strong  a position. 
They  have  selected  their  own  ground,  and  we  meet 
them  there.”  But  it  was  McClellan’s  unwillingness  to 
do  the  very  thing  that  Burnside  is  censured  for  having 
done,  and  that  proved  so  overwhelming  a disaster,  that 
was  the  occasion  for  McClellan’s  removal. 

A good  illustration  of  Lincoln’s  disappointed,  per- 
haps unreasonable,  state  of  mind  before  McClellan’s 
removal  is  furnished  by  Hon.  O.  M.  Hatch,  a former 
Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois  and  an  old  friend  of 
Lincoln’s.  Mr.  Hatch  relates  that  a short  time  before 
McClellan’s  removal  from  command  he  went  with  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  to  visit  the  army,  still  near  Antietam. 
They  reached  Antietam  late  in  the  afternoon  of  a very 
hot  day,  and  were  assigned  a special  tent  for  their 
occupancy  during  the  night.  “ Early  next  morning,” 
says  Mr.  Hatch,  “ I was  awakened  by  Mr.  Lincoln.  It 
was  very  early  — daylight  was  just  lighting  the  east  — 
the  soldiers  were  all  asleep  in  their  tents.  Scarce  a 
sound  could  be  heard  except  the  notes  of  early  birds, 


418  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


and  the  farm-yard  voices  from  distant  farms.  Lincoln 
said  to  me,  ‘ Come,  Hatch,  I want  you  to  take  a walk 
with  me.’  His  tone  was  serious  and  impressive.  I 
arose  without  a word,  and  as  soon  as  we  were  dressed 
we  left  the  tent  together.  He  led  me  about  the  camp, 
and  then  we  walked  upon  the  surrounding  hills  over- 
looking the  great  city  of  white  tents  and  sleeping  sol- 
diers. Very  little  was  spoken  between  us,  beyond  a few 
words  as  to  the  pleasantness  of  the  morning  or  similar 
casual  observations.  Lincoln  seemed  to  be  peculiarly 
serious,  and  his  quiet,  abstract  way  affected  me  also. 
It  did  not  seem  a time  to  speak.  We  walked  slowly 
and  quietly,  meeting  here  and  there  a guard,  our 
thoughts  leading  us  to  reflect  on  that  wonderful  situa- 
tion. A nation  in  peril  - — • the  whole  world  looking 
at  America — a million  men  in  arms  — the  whole  ma- 
chinery of  war  engaged  throughout  the  country,  while 
I stood  by  that  kind-hearted,  simple-minded  man  who 
might  be  regarded  as  the  Director-General,  looking  at 
the  beautiful  sunrise  and  the  magnificent  scene  before 
us.  Nothing  was  .to  be  said,  nothing  needed  to  be 
said.  Finally,  reaching  a commanding  point  where 
almost  that  entire  camp  could  be  seen  — the  men  were 
just  beginning  their  morning  duties,  and  evidences  of 
life  and  activity  were  becoming  apparent  — we  invol- 
untarily stopped.  The  President,  waving  his  hand 
towards  the  scene  before  us,  and  leaning  towards  me, 
said  in  an  almost  whispering  voice:  ‘Hatch  — Hatch, 
what  is  all  this?’  ‘Why,  Mr.  Lincoln,’  said  I,  ‘this 
is  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.’  He  hesitated  a moment, 
and  then,  straightening  up,  said  in  a louder  tone:  ‘ No, 
Hatch,  no.  This  is  General  McClellan's  body-guard 
Nothing  more  was  said.  We  walked  to  our  tent,  and 
the  subject  was  not  alluded  to  again.” 


CHAPTER  XXI 


Lincoln  and  Slavery  — Plan  for  Gradual  Emancipatiorf  — Anti-slavery 
Legislation  in  1862  — • Pressure  Brought  to  Bear  on  the  Executive  — 
The  Delegation  of  Quakers  — A Visit  from  Chicago  Clergymen  — • 
Interview  between  Lincoln  and  Channing  — Lincoln  and  Horace 
Greeley  — The  President’s  Answer  to  “The  Prayer  of  Twenty  Mil- 
lions of  People”  — Conference  between  Lincoln  and  Greeley  — 
Emancipation  Resolved  on  — The  Preliminary  Proclamation  — 
Lincoln's  Account  of  It  — Preparing  for  the  Final  Act  — The  Eman- 
cipation Proclamation  — Particulars  of  the  Great  Document  — 
Fate  of  the  Original  Draft  — Lincoln’s  Outline  of  his  Course  and 
Views  regarding  Slavery. 


HE  emancipation  of  slaves  in  America  — the 


1 crowning  act  of  Lincoln’s  eventful  career  and 
the  one  with  which  his  fame  is  most  indissolubly  linked 
— is  a subject  of  supreme  interest  in  a study  of  his 
life  and  character.  For  this  great  act  all  his  previous 
life  and  training  had  been  but  a preparation.  From 
the  first  awakening  of  his  convictions  of  the  moral 
wrong  of  human  slavery,  through  all  his  public  and 
private  utterances,  may  be  traced  one  logical  and  con- 
sistent development  of  the  principles  which  at  last 
found  sublime  expression  in  the  Proclamation  of  Eman- 
cipation. In  this,  as  always,  he  was  true  to  his  own 
inner  promptings.  He  would  not  be  hurried  or  wor- 
ried or  badgered  into  premature  and  impracticable 
measures.  He  bided  his  time ; and  when  that  time 
came  the  deed  was  done,  unalterably  and  irrevocably: 
approved  by  the  logic  of  events,  and  by  the  enlightened 
conscience  of  the  world. 

The  final  Emancipation  Proclamation  was  issued  on 
the  first  day  of  January,  1863.  The  various  official 


420  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


measures  that  preceded  it  may  be  briefly  sketched,  to- 
gether with  closely  related  incidents.  As  early  as  the 
autumn  of  1861  the  problem  of  the  relation  of  the 
war  to  slavery  was  brought  forcibly  to  the  President’s 
attention  by  the  action  of  General  J.  C.  Fremont,  the 
Union  commander  in  Missouri,  who  issued  an  order 
declaring  the  slaves  of  rebels  in  his  department  free. 
The  order  was  premature  and  unauthorized,  and  the 
President  promptly  annulled  it.  General  Fremont  was 
thus,  in  a sense,  the  pioneer  in  military  emancipation; 
and  he  lived  to  see  the  policy  proposed  by  him  carried 
into  practical  operation  by  all  our  armies.  Lincoln 
afterwards  said : “ I have  great  respect  for  General 
Fremont  and  his  abilities,  but  the  fact  is  that  the 
pioneer  in  any  movement  is  not  generally  the  best  man 
to  carry  that  movement  to  a successful  issue.  It  was 
so  in  old  times ; Moses  began  the  emancipation  of  the 
Jews,  but  did  n’t  take  Israel  to  the  Promised  Land 
after  all.  He  had  to  make  way  for  Joshua  to  complete 
the  work.  It  looks  as  if  the  first  reformer  of  a thing 
has  to  meet  such  a hard  opposition  and  gets  so  bat- 
tered and  bespattered  that  afterward  when  people  find 
they  have  to  accept  his  reform  they  will  accept  it  more 
easily  from  another  man.” 

Lincoln  at  first  favored  a policy  of  gradual  emanci- 
pation. In  a special  message  to  Congress,  on  the  6th 
of  March,  1862,  he  proposed  such  a plan  for  the  aboli- 
tion of  slavery.  “ In  my  judgment,”  he  remarked, 
“ gradual,  and  not  sudden,  emancipation  is  better  for 
all.”  He  suggested  to  Congress  the  adoption  of  a joint 
resolution  declaring  “ that  the  United  States  ought  to 
co-operate  with  any  State  which  may  adopt  a gradual 
abolition  of  slavery,  giving  to  such  State  pecuniary  aid 
to  compensate  for  the  inconvenience,  public  and  pri- 
vate, produced  by  such  change  of  system.”  In  con- 
clusion he  urged:  “In  full  view  of  my  great  responsi- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  421 


bility  to  my  God  and  to  my  country,  I earnestly  beg 
the  attention  of  Congress  and  the  people  to  this 
subject.” 

On  the  16th  of  April  of  this  year,  Congress  passed 
a bill  abolishing  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  — 
a measure  for  which  Lincoln  had  himself  introduced  a 
bill  while  a member  of  Congress.  In  confirming  the 
act  as  President,  he  remarked  privately : “ Little  did 
I dream  in  1849,  when  as  a member  of  Congress  I 
proposed  to  abolish  slavery  at  this  capital,  and  could 
scarcely  get  a hearing  for  the  proposition,  that  it  would 
be  so  soon  accomplished.” 

Emancipation  measures  moved  rapidly  in  1862.  On 
June  19  Congress  enacted  a measure  prohibiting  slavery 
forever  in  all  present  and  future  territories  of  the 
United  States.  July  17  a law  was  passed  authorizing 
the  employment  of  negroes  as  soldiers,  and  conferring 
freedom  on  all  who  should  render  military  service,  and 
on  the  families  of  all  such  as  belonged  to  disloyal 
owners.  Two  days  later,  in  a conference  appointed 
by  him  at  the  Executive  Mansion,  the  President  sub- 
mitted to  the  members  of  Congress  from  the  Border 
States  a written  appeal,  in.  which  he  said : 

Believing  that  you,  in  the  border  States,  hold  more 
power  for  good  than  any  other  equal  number  of  mem- 
bers, I feel  it  a duty  which  I cannot  justifiably  waive, 
to  make  this  appeal  to  you.  ...  I intend  no  reproach 
or  complaint  when  I assure  you  that,  in  my  opinion, 
if  you  all  had  voted  for  the  resolution  in  the  gradual 
emancipation  message  of  last  March,  the  war  would 
now  be  substantially  ended.  And  the  plan  therein  pro- 
posed is  yet  one  of  the  most  potent  and  swift  means 
of  ending  it.  Let  the  States  which  are  in  rebellion  see 
definitely  and  certainly  that  in  no  event  will  the  States 
you  represent  ever  join  their  proposed  confederacy,  and 
they  cannot  much  longer  maintain  the  contest.  ...  If 


422  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


the  war  continues  long,  as  it  must  if  the  object  be  not 
sooner  attained,  the  institution  in  your  States  will  be 
extinguished  by  mere  friction  and  abrasion,  by  the  mere 
incidents  of  the  war.  It  will  be  gone,  and  you  will 
have  nothing  valuable  in  lieu  of  it.  Much  of  its  value 
is  gone  already.  How  much  better  for  you  and  for 
your  people  to  take  the  step  which  at  once  shortens 
the  war  and  secures  substantial  compensation  for  that 
which  is  sure  to  be  wholly  lost  in  any  other  event ! How 
much  better  to  thus  save  the  money  which  else  we  sink 
forever  in  the  war ! How  much  better  to  do  it  while 
we  can,  lest  the  war  ere  long  render  us  pecuniarily 
unable  to  do  it ! How  much  better  for  you  as  seller, 
and  the  nation  as  buyer,  to  sell  out  and  buy  out  that 
without  which  the  war  could  never  have  been,  than  to 
sink  both  the  thing  to  be  sold  and  the  price  of  it  in 
cutting  one  another’s  throats  ! ...  I do  not  speak  of 
emancipation  at  once,  but  of  a decision  to  emancipate 
gradually.  . . . Upon  these  considerations  I have  again 
begged  your  attention  to  the  message  of  March  last. 
Before  leaving  the  capital,  consider  and  discuss  it 
among  yourselves.  You  are  patriots  and  statesmen, 
and  as  such  I pray  you  consider  this  proposition,  and  at 
the  least  commend  it  to  the  consideration  of  your  States 
and  people.  As  you  would  perpetuate  popular  govern- 
ment for  the  best  people  in  the  world,  I beseech  you 
that  you  do  in  nowise  omit  this.  Our  common  country 
is  in  great  peril,  demanding  the  loftiest  views  and 
boldest  action  to  bring  a speedy  relief.  Once  relieved, 
its  form  of  government  is  saved  to  the  world,  its  be- 
loved history  and  cherished  memories  are  vindicated, 
and  its  happy  future  fully  assured  and  rendered  in- 
conceivably grand.  To  you,  more  than  any  others,  the 
privilege  is  given  to  assure  that  happiness  and  swell 
that  grandeur,  and  to  link  your  own  names  therewith 
forever. 

In  an  interview  with  Mr.  Lovejoy  and  Mr.  Arnold, 
of  Illinois,  the  day  following  this  conference,  Lincoln 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  423 


exclaimed : “ Oh,  how  I wish  the  border  States  would 
accept  my  proposition!  Then  you,  Lovejoy,  and  you, 
Arnold,  and  all  of  us,  would  not  have  lived  in  vain! 
The  labor  of  your  life,  Lovejoy,  would  be  crowned  with 
success.  You  would  live  to  see  the  end  of  slavery.” 

The  first  occasion  on  which  the  President  definitely 
discussed  emancipation  plans  with  members  of  his 
Cabinet,  according  to  Secretary  Welles,  was  on  the 
13th  of  July,  1862.  On  that  day,  says  Mr.  Welles, 
“ President  Lincoln  invited  me  to  accompany  him  in 
his  carriage  to  the  funeral  of  an  infant  child  of  Mr. 
Stanton.  Secretary  Seward  and  Mrs.  Frederick  Seward 
were  also  in  the  carriage.  Mr.  Stanton  occujned  at 
that  time  for  a summer  residence  the  house  of  a naval 
officer,  some  two  or  three  miles  west  or  northwest  of 
Georgetown.  It  was  on  this  occasion  and  on  this  ride 
that  he  first  mentioned  to  Mr.  Seward  and  myself  the 
subject  of  emancipating  the  slaves  by  proclamation  in 
case  the  Rebels  did  not  cease  to  persist  in  their  war 
on  the  Government  and  the  Union,  of  which  he  saw 
no  evidence.  He  dwelt  earnestly  on  the  gravity,  im- 
portance, and  delicacy  of  the  movement ; said  he  had 
given  it  much  thought,  and  had  about  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  was  a military  necessity  absolutely 
essential  for  the  salvation  of  the  Union;  that  we  must 
free  the  slaves  or  be  ourselves  subdued,  etc.  . . . This 
was,  the  President  said,  the  first  occasion  when  he  had 
mentioned  the  subject  to  anyone,  and  wished  us  to 
frankly  state  how  the  proposition  struck  us.  Mr. 
Seward  said  the  subject  involved  consequences  so  vast 
and  momentous  that  he  should  wish  to  bestow  on  it 
mature  reflection  before  giving  a decisive  answer;  but 
his  present  opinion  inclined  to  the  measure  as  justifi- 
able, and  perhaps  he  might  say  expedient  and  neces- 
sary. These  were  also  my  views.  Two  or  three  times 
on  that  ride  the  subject,  which  was  of  course  an  ab- 


424  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


sorbing  one  for  each  and  all,  was  adverted  to ; and 
before  separating,  the  President  desired  us  to  give  the 
question  special  and  deliberate  attention,  for  he  was 
earnest  in  the  conviction  that  something  must  be  done. 
It  was  a new  departure  for  the  President,  for  until 
this  time,  in  all  our  previous  interviews,  whenever  the 
question  of  emancipation  or  the  mitigation  of  slavery 
had  been  in  any  way  alluded  to,  he  had  been  prompt 
and  emphatic  in  denouncing  any  interference  by  the 
General  Government  with  the  subject.  This  was,  I 
think,  the  sentiment  of  every  member  of  the  Cabinet, 
all  of  whom,  including  the  President,  considered  it  a 
local,  domestic  question,  appertaining  to  the  States  re- 
spectively, who  had  never  parted  with  their  authority 
over  it.  But  the  reverses  before  Richmond,  and  the 
formidable  power  and  dimensions  of  the  insurrection, 
which  extended  through  all  the  Slave  States,  and  had 
combined  most  of  them  in  a confederacy  to  destroy 
the  Union,  impelled  the  Administration  to  adopt  ex- 
traordinary measures  to  preserve  the  national  existence. 
The  slaves,  if  not  armed  and  disciplined,  were  in  the 
service  of  those  who  were,  not  only  as  field  laborers 
and  producers,  but  thousands  of  them  were  in  attend- 
ance upon  the  armies  in  the  field,  employed  as  waiters 
and  teamsters,  and  the  fortifications  and  intrenchments 
were  constructed  by  them.” 

It  has  been  shown  again  and  again,  by  the  words  of 
Lincoln  and  by  the  testimony  of  his  friends,  that  he 
heartily  detested  the  practice  of  slavery,  and  would 
joyfully  have  set  every  bondman  free.  Before  his 
nomination  for  the  Presidency  — indeed,  from  the  very 
beginning  of  his  public  life  — he  had  repeatedly  put 
himself  on  record  as  opposed  to  slavery,  but  perhaps 
nowhere  more  tersely  and  unequivocally  than  in  these 
words : “ There  is  no  reason  in  the  world  why  the  negro 
is  not  entitled  to  all  the  natural  rights  enumerated  in 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  425 


the  Declaration  of  Independence  — the  right  to  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  I hold  that  he 
is  as  much  entitled  to  them  as  the  white  man.”  But  his 
respect  for  the  laws  of  the  land  deterred  him  from 
measures  that  might  seem  of  doubtful  constitutionality, 
and  he  waited  patiently  until  the  right  hour  had  struck 
before  he  issued  the  edict  of  emancipation  so  eagerly 
demanded  by  a large  class  of  earnest  and  loyal  people 
at  the  North.  Many  of  these  people,  misunderstand- 
ing his  views  and  intentions,  were  very  impatient;  and 
their  criticisms  and  expostulations  were  a constant 
burden  to  the  sorely  tried  Executive. 

In  June  of  this  year  (1862)  the  President  was  waited 
on  by  a deputation  of  Quakers,  or  Friends,  fifteen  or 
twenty  in  number,  who  had  been  charged  by  the 
Yearly  Meeting  of  their  association  to  present  a 
“minute”  to  the  President  on  the  subject  of  slavery 
and  the  duty  of  immediate  emancipation.  The  visit 
of  these  excellent  people  was  not  altogether  timely. 
Bad  news  had  been  received  from  McClellan’s  army  on 
the  Peninsula,  and  Lincoln  was  harassed  with  cares 
and  anxieties.  But  he  gave  the  deputation  a cordial 
though  brief  greeting,  as  he  announced  that  he  was 
ready  to  hear  from  the  Friends.  In  the  reading  of  the 
minute,  it  appeared  that  the  document  took  occasion 
to  remind  the  President  that,  years  before,  he  had 
said,  “ I believe  that  this  Government  cannot  perma- 
nently endure  half  slave  and  half  free,”  and  from  this 
was  implied  a suggestion  of  his  failure  to  perform  his 
duty  as  he  had  then  seen  it.  Lincoln  was  decidedly 
displeased  with  this  criticism;  and  after  the  document 
had  been  read  to  the  close,  he  received  it  from  the 
speaker,  then  drawing  himself  up,  he  said,  with  un- 
usual severity  of  manner:  “ It  is  true  that  on  the  17th 
of  June,  1858,  I said,  ‘ I believe  that  this  Government 
cannot  permanently  endure  half  slave  and  half  free,’ 


426  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


but  I said  it  in  connection  with  other  things  from  which 
it  should  not  have  been  separated  in  an  address  dis- 
cussing moral  obligations ; for  this  is  a case  in  which 
the  repetition  of  half  a truth,  in  connection  with  the 
remarks  just  read,  produces  the  effect  of  a whole  false- 
hood. What  I did  say  was,  ‘ If  we  could  first  know 
[where  we  are,  and  whither  we  are  tending,  we  could 
better  judge  what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it.  We  are 
now  far  into  the  fifth  year  since  a policy  was  initiated 
;with  the  avowed  object  and  confident  promise  of  put- 
ting an  end  to  the  slavery  agitation.  Under  the  opera- 
tion of  that  policy  this  agitation  has  not  only  not 
ceased  but  has  constantly  augmented.  In  my  opinion 
it  will  not  cease  until  a crisis  shall  have  been  reached 
and  passed.  “ A house  divided  against  itself  cannot 
stand.”  I believe  that  this  Government  cannot  per- 
manently endure  half  slave  and  half  free.  I do  not 
expect  the  Union  to  be  dissolved  — I do  not  expect  the 
house  to  fall  — but  I do  expect  that  it  will  cease  to 
be  divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all  the  other. 
Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  arrest  the  further 
spread  of  it,  and  place  it  where  the  public  mind  shall 
rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the  course  of  ultimate 
extinction,  or  its  advocates  will  push  it  forward  till  it 
shall  become  alike  lawful  in  all  the  States,  old  as  well 
as  new,  North  as  well  as  South.’  Take  this  statement 
as  a whole,  and  it  does  not  furnish  a text  for  the 
homily  to  which  this  audience  has  listened.” 

As  Lincoln  concluded,  he  was  turning  away,  when 
another  member  of  the  delegation,  a woman,  requested 
permission  to  detain  him  with  a few  words.  Somewhat 
impatiently  he  said,  “ I will  hear  the  Friend.”  Her 
remarks  were  a plea  for  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves, 
urging  that  he  was  the  appointed  minister  of  the  Lord 
to  do  the  work,  and  enforcing  her  argument  by  many 
Scriptural  citations.  At  the  close  he  asked,  “ Has  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  427 


Friend  finished?  ” and  receiving  an  affirmative  answer, 
he  said : “ I have  neither  time  nor  disposition  to  enter 
into  discussion  with  the  Friend,  and  end  this  occa- 
sion by  suggesting  for  her  consideration  the  question 
whether,  if  it  be  true  that  the  Lord  has  appointed  me 
to  do  the  work  she  has  indicated,  it  is  not  probable 
that  He  would  have  communicated  knowledge  of  the 
fact  to  me  as  well  as  to  her?  ” 

Something  like  the  same  views  were  expressed  by 
Lincoln,  on  another  occasion,  when,  in  response  to  a 
memorial  presented  by  a delegation  representing  most 
of  the  religious  organizations  of  Chicago,  he  said,  re- 
spectfully but  pointedly : “ I am  approached  with  the 
most  opposite  opinions  and  advice,  and  by  religious 
men  who  are  certain  they  represent  the  Divine  Will. 
...  I hope  it  will  not  be  irreverent  in  me  to  say  that 
if  it  be  probable  that  God  would  reveal  His  will  to 
others,  on  a point  so  closely  connected  with  my  duty,  it 
might  be  supposed  he  would  reveal  it  directly  to  me. 

. . . If  I can  learn  His  will,  I will  do  it.  These,  how- 
ever, are  not  the  days  of  miracles,  and  I suppose  I am 
not  to  expect  a direct  revelation.  I must  study  the 
plain  physical  facts  of  the  case,  and  learn  what  appears 
to  be  wise  and  right.  . . . Do  not  misunderstand  me 
because  I have  mentioned  these  objections.  They  indi- 
cate the  difficulties  which  have  thus  far  prevented  my 
action  in  some  such  way  as  you  desire.  I have  not 
decided  against  a proclamation  of  emancipation,  but 
hold  the  matter  in  advisement.  The  subject  is  in  my 
mind  by  day  and  by  night.  Whatever  shall  appear 
to  be  God’s  will,  I will  do.” 

About  this  period  the  President  had  a very  interest- 
ing conversation  with  Rev.  William  Henry  Channing, 
in  which  the  question  of  emancipation  was  frankly  dis- 
cussed. Mr.  M.  D.  Conway,  who  was  present  at  the 
interview,  says : “ Mr.  Channing  having  begun  by  ex- 


428  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


pressing  his  belief  that  the  opportunity  of  the  nation 
to  rid  itself  of  slavery  had  arrived,  Mr.  Lincoln  asked 
how  he  thought  they  might  avail  themselves  of  it. 
Channing  suggested  emancipation,  with  compensation 
for  the  slaves.  The  President  said  he  had  for  years 
been  in  favor  of  that  plan.  When  the  President  turned 
to  me,  I asked  whether  we  might  not  look  to  him  as 
the  coming  deliverer  of  the  nation  from  its  one  great 
evil?  What  would  not  that  man  achieve  for  mankind 
who  should  free  America  from  slavery?  He  said,  ‘ Per- 
haps we  may  be  better  able  to  do  something  in  that 
direction  after  a while  than  we  are  now.’  I said : 
‘ Mr.  President,  do  you  believe  the  masses  of  the 
American  people  would  hail  you  as  their  deliverer  if, 
at  the  end  of  this  war,  the  Union  should  be  surviving 
and  slavery  still  in  it?  ’ ‘ Yes,  if  they  were  to  see  that 
slavery  was  on  the  down  hill.’  I ventured  to  say: 
‘ Our  fathers  compromised  with  slavery  because  they 
thought  it  on  the  down  hill ; hence  war  to-day.’  The 
President  said : ‘ I think  the  country  grows  in  this 
direction  daily,  and  I am  not  without  hope  that  some- 
thing of  the  desire  of  you  and  your  friends  may  be 
accomplished.  When  the  hour  comes  for  dealing  with 
slavery,  I trust  I shall  he  willing  to  do  my  duty,  though 
it  costs  my  life.  And,  gentlemen,  lives  will  be  lost.’ 
These  last  words  were  said  with  a smile,  yet  with  a 
sad  and  weary  tone.  During  the  conversation  Mr. 
Lincoln  recurred  several  times  to  Channing’s  sugges- 
tion of  pecuniary  compensation  for  emancipated  slaves, 
and  professed  profound  sympathy  with  the  Southerners 
who,  by  no  fault  of  their  own,  had  become  socially  and 
commercially  bound  up  with  their  peculiar  institution. 
Being  a Virginian  myself,  with  many  dear  relatives  and 
beloved  companions  of  my  youth  in  the  Confederate 
ranks,  I responded  warmly  to  his  kindly  sentiments 
toward  the  South,  albeit  feeling  more  angry  than  he 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  429 


seemed  to  be  against  the  institution  preying  upon  the 
land  like  a ghoul.  I forget  whether  it  was  on  this 
occasion  or  on  a subsequent  one  when  I was  present 
that  he  said,  in  parting:  ‘We  shall  need  all  the  anti- 
slavery feeling  in  the  country,  and  more;  you  can  go 
home  and  try  to  bring  the  people  to  your  views;  and 
you  may  say  anything  you  like  about  me,  if  that  will 
help.  Don’t  spare  me ! ’ This  was  said  with  some 
laughter,  but  still  in  earnest.” 

One  of  the  severest  opponents  of  President  Lincoln’s 
policy  regarding  slavery  was  Horace  Greeley.  He 
criticized  Lincoln  freely  in  the  New  York  “ Tribune,” 
of  which  he  was  editor,  and  said  many  harsh  and  bitter 
things  of  the  administration.  Lincoln  took  the  abuse 
good-naturedly,  saying  on  one  occasion : “ It  reminds 
me  of  the  big  fellow  whose  little  wife  was  wont  to  beat 
him  over  the  head  without  resistance.  When  remon- 
strated with,  the  man  said,  ‘ Let  her  alone.  It  don’t 
hurt  me,  and  it  does  her  a power  of  good.’  ” 

In  August,  1862,  Mr.  Greeley  published  a letter  in 
the  New  York  “ Tribune,”  headed  “ The  prayer  of 
twenty  millions  of  people,”  in  which  he  urged  the 
President,  with  extreme  emphasis,  to  delay  the  act  of 
emancipation  no  longer.  Lincoln  answered  the  vehe- 
ment entreaty  in  the  following  calm,  firm,  and  explicit 
words : 

Executive  Mansion,  Washington, 
Friday,  Aug.  22,  1862. 

Hon.  Horace  Greeley. 

Dear  Sir:  I have  just  read  yours  of  the  19th  in- 
stant, addressed  to  myself,  through  the  New  York 
Tribune. 

If  there  be  in  it  any  statements  or  assumptions  of 
fact,  which  I may  know  to  be  erroneous,  I do  not  now 
and  here  controvert  them.  If  there  be  any  inferences 
which  I believe  to  be  falsely  drawn,  I do  not  now  and 


430  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


here  argue  against  them.  If  there  be  perceptible  in  it 
an  impatient  and  dictatorial  tone,  I waive  it,  in  defer- 
ence to  an  old  friend  whose  heart  I have  always  sup- 
posed to  be  right. 

As  to  the  policy  I “ seem  to  be  pursuing,”  as  you  say, 
I have  not  meant  to  leave  anyone  in  doubt.  I would 
save  the  Union.  I would  save  it  in  the  shortest  way 
under  the  Constitution.  The  sooner  the  national  au- 
thority can  be  restored,  the  nearer  the  Union  will  be 
— the  Union  as  it  was.  If  there  be  those  who  would 
not  save  the  Union  unless  they  could  at  the  same  time 
save  slavery,  I do  not  agree  with  them.  If  there  be 
those  who  would  not  save  the  Union  unless  they  could 
at  the  same  time  destroy  slavery,  I do  not  agree  with 
them.  My  paramount  object  is  to  save  the  Union,  and 
not  either  to  save  or  destroy  slavery.  If  I could  save 
the  Union  without  freeing  any  slave,  I would  do  it. 
And  if  I could  save  it  by  freeing  all  the  slaves,  I would 
do  it.  And  if  I could  save  it  by  freeing  some,  and  leav- 
ing others  alone,  I would  do  that. 

What  I do  about  slavery  and  the  colored  race,  I do 
because  I believe  it  helps  to  save  the  Union ; and  what 
I forbear,  I forbear  because  I do  not  believe  it  would 
help  to  save  the  Union.  I shall  do  less  whenever  I be- 
lieve what  I am  doing  hurts  the  cause;  and  shall  do 
more  whenever  I believe  doing  more  will  help  the  cause. 
I shall  try  to  correct  errors,  when  shown  to  be  errors ; 
and  I shall  adopt  new  views,  so  fast  as  they  shall  appear 
to  be  true  views. 

I have  here  stated  my  purpose,  according  to  my  view 
of  official  duty,  and  I intend  no  modification  of  my  oft- 
expressed  personal  wish  that  all  men  everywhere  could 

be  free-  Yours  * T 

lours,  a.  Lincoln. 

Mr.  Greeley  being  dissatisfied  with  Lincoln’s  explana- 
tion, and  the  “ Tribune  ” still  teeming  with  complaints 
and  criticisms  of  the  administration,  Lincoln  requested 
Mr.  Greeley  to  come  to  Washington  and  make  known  in 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  431 

person  his  complaints,  to  the  end  that  they  might  be 
obviated  if  possible.  The  editor  of  the  “ Tribune  ” 
came.  Lincoln  said:  “You  complain  of  me.  What 
have  I done,  or  omitted  to  do,  which  has  provoked  the 
hostility  of  the  ‘ Tribune  ’?  ” The  reply  was,  “ You 
should  issue  a proclamation  abolishing  slavery.”  Lin- 
coln answered : “ Suppose  I do  that.  There  are  now 
twenty  thousand  of  our  muskets  on  the  shoulders  of 
Kentuckians,  who  are  bravely  fighting  our  battles. 
Every  one  of  them  will  be  thrown  down  or  carried  over 
to  the  rebels.”  The  reply  was : “ Let  them  do  it.  The 
cause  of  the  Union  will  be  stronger  if  Kentucky  should 
secede  with  the  rest  than  it  is  now.”  Lincoln  answered, 
“ Oh,  I can’t  think  that.” 

It  is  evident  that  these  solicitations  and  counsellings 
from  outside  persons  were  unnecessary  and  idle.  Lin- 
coln’s far-seeing  and  practical  mind  had  already 
grasped,  more  surely  than  had  his  would-be  advisers, 
the  ultimate  wisdom  and  justice  of  the  emancipation  of 
the  slaves.  But  he  was  resolved  to  do  nothing  rashly. 
He  would  wait  till  the  time  was  ripe,  and  then  abolish 
slavery  on  grounds  that  would  be  approved  throughout 
the  world : he  would  destroy  slavery  as  a necessary  step 
to  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  In  the  first  year  of 
the  war  he  had  said  to  a Southern  Unionist,  who  warned 
him  against  meddling  with  slavery,  “ You  must  not  ex- 
pect me  to  give  up  this  Government  without  playing 
my  last  card.”  This  “ last  card  ” was  undoubtedly  the 
freeing  of  the  slaves ; and  when  the  time  came,  Lincoln 
played  it  unhesitatingly  and  triumphantly.  How 
strong  a card  it  was  may  be  judged  by  a statement 
made  in  Congress  by  Mr.  Ashmore,  a Representative 
from  South  Carolina,  who  said  shortly  before  the  war: 
“ The  South  can  sustain  more  men  in  the  field  than 
the  North  can.  Her  four  millions  of  slaves  alone  will 
enable  her  to  support  an  army  of  half  a million.”  This 


432  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


view  makes  the  issue  plain.  If  the  South  could  main- 
tain armies  in  the  field  supported,  or  partly  supported, 
by  slave  labor,  it  was  as  much  the  right  and  the  duty 
of  the  Government  to  destroy  that  support  as  to  de- 
stroy an  establishment  for  the  manufacture  of  arms 
or  munitions  of  war  for  the  Southern  armies.  The 
logic  of  events  had  demonstrated  the  necessity  and 
justice  of  the  measure,  and  Lincoln  now  had  with  him 
a Cabinet  practically  united  in  its  favor.  The  case 
was  well  stated  by  Secretary  Welles  — perhaps  the 
most  cool-headed  and  conservative  member  of  Lincoln’s 
Cabinet  — at  a Cabinet  meeting  held  six  or  eight  weeks 
after  the  Emancipation  measure  had  been  brought  for- 
ward by  the  President.  Mr.  Welles,  as  he  relates  in 
his  Diary,  pointed  out  “ the  strong  exercise  of  power  ” 
involved  in  the  proposal,  and  denied  the  power  of  the 
Executive  to  take  such  a step  under  ordinary  condi- 
tions. “ But,”  said  Mr.  Welles,  “ the  Rebels  them- 
selves had  invoked  war  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  had 
appealed  to  arms,  and  must  abide  the  consequences.” 
Mr.  Welles  admitted  that  it  was  “ an  extreme  exercise 
of  war  powers”  which  he  believed  justifiable  “under 
the  circumstances,  and  in  view  of  the  condition  of  the 
country  and  the  magnitude  of  the  contest.  The  slaves 
were  now  an  element  of  strength  to  the  Rebels  — were 
laborers,  producers,  and  army  attendants;  they  were 
considered  as  property  by  the  Rebels,  and  if  property 
they  were  subject  to  confiscation;  if  not  property,  but 
persons  residing  in  the  insurrectionary  region,  we 
should  invite  them  as  well  as  the  whites  to  unite  with 
us  in  putting  down  the  Rebellion.”  This  view  was  in 
the  main  concurred  in  by  the  Cabinet  members  present, 
and  greatly  heartened  the  President  in  his  course.  On 
the  22d  of  September,  1862,  he  issued  what  is  known 
as  the  “ Preliminary  Proclamation.”  The  text  of  this 
momentous  document  is  as  follows: 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  433 


I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and 
Navy  thereof,  do  hereby  proclaim  and  declare  that  here- 
after, as  heretofore,  the  war  will  be  prosecuted  for  the 
object  of  practically  restoring  the  constitutional  rela- 
tions between  the  United  States  and  each  of  the  States 
and  the  people  thereof,  in  which  States  that  relation  is 
or  may  be  suspended  or  disturbed. 

That  it  is  my  purpose,  upon  the  next  meeting  of 
Congress,  to  again  recommend  the  adoption  of  a prac- 
tical measure  tendering  pecuniary  aid  to  the  free  ac- 
ceptance or  rejection  of  all  slave  States,  so  called,  the 
people  whereof  may  not  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the 
United  States,  and  which  States  may  then  have  volun- 
tarily adopted,  or  thereafter  may  voluntarily  adopt, 
immediate  or  gradual  abolishment  of  slavery  within 
their  respective  limits ; and  that  the  effort  to  colonize 
persons  of  African  descent,  with  their  consent,  upon 
this  continent  or  elsewhere,  with  the  previously  obtained 
consent  of  the  governments  existing  there,  will  be 
continued. 

That  on  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-three,  all 
persons  held  as  slaves  within  any  State  or  designated 
part  of  a State,  the  people  whereof  shall  then  be  in  re- 
bellion against  the  United  States,  shall  be  then,  thence- 
forward, and  forever  free;  and  the  Executive  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  including  the  military  and 
naval  authority  thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain  the 
freedom  of  such  persons,  and  will  do  no  act  or  acts  to 
repress  such  persons,  or  any  of  them,  in  any  efforts 
they  may  make  for  their  actual  freedom. 

That  the  Executive  will,  on  the  first  day  of  January 
aforesaid,  by  proclamation,  designate  the  States  and 
parts  of  States,  if  any,  in  which  the  people  thereof  re- 
spectively shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United 
States ; and  the  fact  that  any  State,  or  the  people 
thereof,  shall  on  that  day  be,  in  good  faith,  represented 
in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  by  members 


434  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


chosen  thereto  at  elections  wherein  a majority  of  the 
qualified  voters  of  such  State  shall  have  participated, 
shall,  in  the  absence  of  strong  countervailing  testimony, 
be  deemed  conclusive  evidence  that  such  State,  and  the 
people  thereof,  are  not  in  rebellion  against  the  United 
States. 

That  attention  is  hereby  called  to  an  act  of  Congress 
entitled  “ An  act  to  make  an  additional  article  of  war,” 
approved  March  13,  1862,  and  which  act  is  in  the  words 
and  figures  following: 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assem- 
* bled.  That  hereafter  the  following  shall  be  promulgated  as 
an  additional  article  of  war,  for  the  government  of  the  army 
of  the  United  States,  and  shall  be  obeyed  and  observed  as 
such. 

Article.  — All  officers  or  persons  in  the  military  or 
naval  service  of  the  United  States  are  prohibited  from  em- 
ploying any  of  the  forces  under  their  respective  commands 
for  the  purpose  of  returning  fugitives  from  service  or  labor 
who  may  have  escaped  from  any  persons  to  whom  such 
service  or  labor  is  claimed  to  be  due,  and  any  officer  who 
shall  be  found  guilty  by  a court-martial  of  violating  this 
article  shall  be  dismissed  from  the  service. 

Sec.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  this  act  shall 
take  effect  from  and  after  its  passage. 

Also  to  the  ninth  and  tenth  sections  of  an  act  en- 
titled “ An  act  to  suppress  insurrection,  to  punish 
treason  and  rebellion,  to  seize  and  confiscate  property 
of  rebels,  and  for  other  purposes,”  approved  July  17, 
1862,  and  which  sections  are  in  the  words  and  figures 
following: 

Sec.  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  slaves  of 
persons  who  shall  hereafter  be  engaged  in  rebellion  against 
the  government  of  the  United  States  or  who  shall  in  any 
way  give  aid  or  comfort  thereto,  escaping  from  such  persons 
and  taking  refuge  within  the  lines  of  the  army ; and  all 
slaves  captured  from  such  persons  or  deserted  by  them,  and 
coming  under  the  control  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States ; and  all  slaves  of  such  persons  found  on  [or]  being 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  435 


within  any  place  occupied  by  rebel  forces,  and  afterwards 
occupied  by  the  forces  of  the  United  States,  shall  be 
deemed  captives  of  war,  and  shall  be  forever  free  of  their 
servitude,  and  not  again  held  as  slaves. 

Sec.  10.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  no  slave,  es- 
caping into  any  State,  Territory,  or  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, from  any  other  State,  shall  be  delivered  up,  or  in  any 
way  impeded  or  hindered  of  his  liberty,  except  for  crime, 
or  some  offense  against  the  laws,  unless  the  person  claim- 
ing said  fugitive  shall  first  make  oath  that  the  person  to 
whom  the  labor  or  service  of  such  fugitive  is  alleged  to  be 
due  is  Lis  lawful  owner,  and  has  not  borne  arms  against 
the  United  States  in  the  present  rebellion,  nor  in  any  way 
given  aid  and  comfort  thereto;  and  no  person  engaged  in 
the  military  or  naval  service  of  the  United  States  shall, 
under  any  pretense  whatever,  assume  to  decide  on  the 
validity  of  the  claim  of  any  person  to  the  service  or  labor 
of  any  other  person,  or  surrender  up  any  such  person  to 
the  claimant,  on  pain  of  being  dismissed  from  the  service. 

And  I do  hereby  enjoin  upon  and  order  all  persons 
engaged  in  the  military  and  naval  service  of  the  United 
States  to  observe,  obey,  and  enforce,  within  their  re- 
spective spheres  of  service,  the  act  and  sections  above 
recited. 

And  the  Executive  will  in  due  time  recommend  that 
all  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  who  shall  have  re- 
mained loyal  thereto  throughout  the  rebellion,  shall 
(upon  the  restoration  of  the  constitutional  relation  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  their  respective  States  and 
people,  if  that  relation  shall  have  been  suspended  or 
disturbed)  be  compensated  for  all  losses  by  acts  of  the 
United  States,  including  the  loss  of  slaves. 

In  witness  whereof,  I have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  twenty-second 
day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  sixty-two,  and  of  the  Inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States  the  eighty-seventh. 

By  the  President : Abraham  Lincoln. 

William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State, 


436  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Lincoln’s  own  account  of  this  proclamation,  and  of 
the  steps  that  led  to  it,  is  given  as  reported  by  Mr. 
F.  B.  Carpenter.  “ It  had,”  said  Lincoln,  “ got  to  be 
midsummer,  1862.  Things  had  gone  on  from  bad  to 
worse,  until  I felt  that  we  had  reached  the  end  of  our 
rope  on  the  plan  of  operations  we  had  been  pursuing; 
that  we  must  change  our  tactics  and  play  our  last 
card,  or  lose  the  game.  I now  determined  upon  the 
adoption  of  the  emancipation  policy;  and,  without 
consultation  with,  or  the  knowledge  of,  the  Cabinet, 
I prepared  the  original  draft  of  the  proclamation,  and, 
after  much  anxious  thought,  called  a Cabinet  meeting 
upon  the  subject.  This  was  the  last  of  July,  or  the 
first  part  of  the  month  of  August,  1862.  This  Cabinet 
meeting  took  place,  I think,  upon  a Saturday.  All 
were  present  excepting  Mr.  Blair,  the  Postmaster- 
general,  who  was  absent  at  the  opening  of  the  discus- 
sion, but  came  in  subsequently.  I said  to  the  Cabinet 
that  I had  resolved  upon  this  step,  and  had  called 
them  together,  not  to  ask  their  advice,  but  to  lay  the 
subject-matter  of  a proclamation  before  them;  sug- 
gestions as  to  which  would  be  in  order,  after  they  had 
heard  it  read.  Mr.  Lovejoy  was  in  error  when  he 
informed  you  that  it  excited  no  comment,  excepting  on 
the  part  of  Secretary  Seward.  Various  suggestions 
were  offered.  Secretary  Chase  wished  the  language 
stronger  in  reference  to  the  arming  of  the  blacks. 
Mr.  Blair,  after  he  came  in,  deprecated  the  policy,  on 
the  ground  that  it  would  cost  the  administration  the 
fall  elections.  Nothing,  however,  was  offered  that  I 
had  not  already  fully  anticipated  and  settled  in  my 
own  mind,  until  Secretary  Seward  spoke.  He  said  in 
substance : ‘ Mr.  President,  I approve  of  the  proclama- 
tion, but  I question  the  expediency  of  its  issue  at  this 
juncture.  The  depression  of  the  public  mind,  conse- 
quent upon  our  repeated  reverses,  is  so  great  that  I 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  437 


fear  the  effect  of  so  important  a step.  It  may  be  viewed 
as  the  last  measure  of  an  exhausted  government,  a cry 
for  help ; the  government  stretching  forth  its  hands 
to  Ethiopia,  instead  of  Ethiopia  stretching  forth  her 
hands  to  the  government.’  ‘ His  idea,’  said  the  Presi- 
dent, ‘ was  that  it  would  be  considered  our  last  shriek 
on  the  retreat.’  (This  was  his  precise  expression.) 
‘ Now,’  continued  Mr.  Seward,  ‘ while  I approve  the 
measure,  I suggest,  sir,  that  you  postpone  its  issue 
until  you  can  give  it  to  the  country  supported  by 
military  success,  instead  of  issuing  it,  as  would  be  the 
case  now,  upon  the  greatest  disasters  of  the  war ! ’ ” 
Lincoln  continued:  “The  wisdom  of  the  view  of  the 
Secretary  of  State  struck  me  with  very  great  force. 
It  was  an  aspect  of  the  case  that,  in  all  my  thought 
upon  the  subject,  I had  entirely  overlooked.  The  result 
was  that  I put  the  draft  of  the  proclamation  aside, 
waiting  for  a victory.  From  time  to  time  I added  or 
changed  a line,  touching  it  up  here  and  there,  anxiously 
waiting  the  progress  of  events.  Well,  the  next  news  we 
had  was  of  Pope’s  disaster  at  Bull  Run.  Things  looked 
darker  than  ever.  Finally,  came  the  week  of  the  battle 
of  Antietam.  I determined  to  wait  no  longer.1  The 
news  came,  I think,  on  Wednesday,  that  the  advantage 
was  on  our  side.  I was  then  staying  at  the  Soldiers’ 
Home  (three  miles  out  of  Washington).  Here  I fin- 
ished writing  the  second  draft  of  the  preliminary  proc- 
lamation ; came  up  on  Saturday ; called  the  Cabinet 
together  to  hear  it ; and  it  was  published  the  following 
Monday.” 

1 Hon.  George  S.  Boutwell  of  Massaehusetts  stated'  Lincoln  said  to 
him  personally:  “When  Lee  came  over  the  river,  I made  a resolution 
that  if  McClellan  drove  him  back  I would  send  the  proclamation  after 
him.  The  battle  of  Antietam  was  fought  Wednesday,  and  until  Satur- 
day I could  not  find  out  whether  we  had  gained  a victory  or  lost  a 
battle.  It  was  then  too  late  to  issue  the  proclamation  that  day;  and 
the  fact  is,  I fixed  it  up  a little  on  Sunday,  and  Monday  I let  them 
have  it.’’ 


438  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Another  interesting  incident  occurred  at  this  Cabinet 
meeting  in  connection  with  Secretary  Seward.  The 
President  had  written  the  important  part  of  the  procla- 
mation in  these  words : “ That  on  the  first  day  of 
January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-three,  all  persons  held  as  slaves 
within  any  State  or  designated  part  of  a State,  the 
people  whereof  shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the 
United  States,  shall  be  then,  thenceforward,  and  forever 
free  ; and  the  Executive  Government  of  the  United 
States,  including  the  military  and  naval  authority 
thereof,  will  recognize  the  freedom  of  such  persons,  and 
will  do  no  act  or  acts  to  repress  such  persons,  or  any 
of  them,  in  any  efforts  they  may  make  for  their  actual 
freedom.”  “ When  I finished  reading  this  paragraph,” 
remarked  Lincoln,  “ Mr.  Seward  stopped  me,  and  said, 
‘ I think,  Mr.  President,  that  you  should  insert  after 
the  wmrd  “ recognize  ” “ and  maintain  ” ’ I replied 
that  I had  already  fully  considered  the  import  of  that 
expression  in  this  connection,  but  I had  not  introduced 
it,  because  it  was  not  my  way  to  promise  what  I was 
not  entirely  sure  that  I could  perform,  and  I was  not 
prepared  to  say  that  I thought  we  were  exactly  able 
to  maintain  this.  But  Seward  insisted  that  we  ought 
to  take  this  ground,  and  the  words  finally  went  in.” 

The  special  Cabinet  meeting  to  which  Lincoln  here 
refers  was  one  of  uncommon  interest  even  in  that  day 
of  heroic  things.  An  account  of  it  is  given  by  Secre- 
tary Welles,  who  was  present.  “ At  the  Cabinet  meet- 
ing of  September  22,”  says  Mr.  Welles  in  his  'Diary, 
“ the  special  subject  was  the  Proclamation  for  emanci- 
pating the  slaves  after  a certain  date,  in  States  that 
shall  then  be  in  rebellion.  For  several  weeks  the  sub- 
ject has  been  suspended,  but  the  President  says  never 
lost  sight  of.  In  faking  up  the  Proclamation,  the 
President  stated  that  the  question  was  finally  decided, 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  439 


the  act  and  the  consequences  were  his,  but  that  he  felt 
it  due  to  us  to  make  us  acquainted  with  the  fact  and  to 
invite  criticism  on  the  paper  which  he  had  prepared. 
There  were,  he  had  found,  not  unexpectedly,  some  dif- 
ferences in  the  Cabinet,  but  he  had,  after  ascertaining 
in  his  own  way  the  views  of  each  and  all,  individually 
and  collectively,  formed  his  own  conclusions  and  made 
his  own  decisions.  In  the  course  of  the  discussion  on 
this  paper,  which  was  long,  earnest,  and,  on  the  general 
principle  involved,  harmonious,  he  remarked  that  he 
had  made  a vow,  a covenant,  that  if  God  gave  us  the 
victory  in  the  approaching  battle,  he  would  consider  it 
an  indication  of  Divine  will,  and  that  it  was  his  duty 
to  move  forward  in  the  cause  of  emancipation.  It 
might  be  thought  strange,  he  said,  that  he  had  in  this 
way  submitted  the  disposal  of  important  matters  when 
the  way  was  not  clear  to  his  mind  what  he  should  do. 
God  had  decided  his  questions  in  favor  of  the  slaves. 
He  was  satisfied  it  was  right ; and  he  was  confirmed 
and  strengthened  in  his  action  by  the  vow  and  the 
results.  His  mind  was  fixed,  his  decision  made,  but  he 
wished  his  paper  announcing  his  course  to  be  as  correct 
in  terms  as  it  could  be  made  without  any  change  in  his 
determination.  He  read  the  document.  One  or  two 
unimportant  amendments  suggested  by  Seward  were 
approved.  It  was  then  handed  to  the  Secretary  of 
State  to  publish  to-morrow.” 

The  discussion  of  Emancipation  brought  up  at  once 
the  problem  of  what  should  be  done  with  the  freed 
negroes.  The  very  next  day  after  the  preliminary 
proclamation  was  issued  (September  23,  1862),  the 
President  presented  the  matter  to  the  assembled  Cabi- 
net. Deportation  was  considered,  and  some  of  those 
present  urged  that  this  should  be  compulsory.  The 
President,  however,  would  not  consider  this ; the  emi- 
gration of  the  negroes,  he  said,  must  be  voluntary,  and 


440  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


without  expense  to  themselves.  It  was  proposed  to 
deport  the  freedmen  to  Costa  Rica,  where  a large 
tract  of  land  (known  as  the  Chiriqui  Grant)  had  been 
obtained  from  the  government  of  Central  America. 
Lincoln  favored  this  in  a general  way.  He  “ thought 
it  essential  to  provide  an  asylum  for  a race  which  we 
had  emancipated  but  which  could  never  be  recognized 
or  admitted  to  be  our  equals,”  says  Mr.  Welles.  But 
there  was  some  doubt  as  to  the  validity  of  the  title 
to  the  Costa  Rica  lands,  and  the  matter  was  dropped. 

In  his  second  annual  message  to  Congress,  trans- 
mitted to  that  body  in  December,  1862,  Lincoln 
touched,  in  conclusion,  upon  the  great  subject  of 
Emancipation,  in  these  words  of  deep  import: 

I do  not  forget  the  gravity  which  should  character- 
ize a paper  addressed  to  the  Congress  of  the  nation  by 
the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  nation.  Nor  do  I forget 
that  some  of  you  are  my  seniors,  nor  that  many  of 
you  have  more  experience  than  I in  the  conduct  of 
public  affairs.  Yet  I trust  that  in  view  of  the  great 
responsibility  resting  upon  me,  you  will  perceive  no 
want  of  respect  to  yourselves  in  any  undue  earnestness 
I may  seem  to  display.  . . . The  dogmas  of  the  quiet 
past  are  inadequate  to  the  stormy  present.  The  occa- 
sion is  piled  high  with  difficulty,  and  we  must  rise  with 
the  occasion.  As  our  case  is  new,  so  we  must  think 
anew  and  act  anew. 

Fellow  citizens,  we  cannot  escape  history.  We  of 
this  Congress  and  this  administration  will  be  remem- 
bered in  spite  of  ourselves.  No  personal  significance, 
or  insignificance,  can  spare  one  or  another  of  us.  The 
fiery  trial  through  which  we  pass  will  light  us  down, 
in  honor  or  dishonor,  to  the  latest  generation.  We  say 
we  are  for  the  Union.  The  world  will  not  forget  that 
we  say  this.  We  know  how  to  save  the  Union.  The 
world  knows  we  do  know  how  to  save  it.  We  — even 
we  here  — hold  the  power  and  bear  the  responsibility. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  441 


In  giving  freedom  to  the  slave  we  assure  freedom  to  the 
free  — honorable  alike  in  what  we  give  and  what  we 
preserve.  We  shall  nobly  save,  or  meanly  lose,  the  last 
best  hope  of  earth.  Other  means  may  succeed,  this 
could  not  fail.  The  way  is  plain,  peaceful,  generous, 
just  — a way  which,  if  followed,  the  world  will  forever 
applaud,  and  God  must  forever  bless. 

An  immense  concourse  attended  the  reception  at  the 
White  House  on  the  first  day  of  1863,  and  the  Presi- 
dent stood  for  several  hours  shaking  hands  with  the 
endless  train  of  men  and  women  who  pressed  forward 
to  greet  him.  The  exhausting  ceremonial  being  ended, 
the  proclamation  which  finally  and  forever  abrogated 
the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  United  States  was 
handed  to  him  for  his  signature.  “ Mr.  Seward,”  re- 
marked the  President,  “ I have  been  shaking  hands  all 
day,  and  my  right  hand  is  almost  paralyzed.  If  my 
name  ever  gets  into  history,  it  will  be  for  this  act,  and 
my  whole  soul  is  in  it.  If  my  hand  trembles  when  I 
sign  the  proclamation,  those  who  examine  the  document 
hereafter  will  say  I hesitated.”  Then,  resting  his  arm 
a moment,  he  turned  to  the  table,  took  up  the  pen,  and 
slowly  and  firmly  wrote,  Abraham  Lincoln.  He 
smiled  as,  handing  the  paper  to  Mr.  Seward,  he  said, 
“That  will  do.”  A few  hours  after,  he  remarked: 
“ The  signature  looks  a little  tremulous,  for  my  hand 
was  tired;  but  my  resolution  Was  firm.  I told  them 
in  September  that  if  they  did  not  return  to  their  alle- 
giance I would  strike  at  this  pillar  of  their  strength. 
And  now  the  promise  shall  be  kept,  and  not  one  word 
of  it  will  I ever  recall.” 

The  text  of  the  great  Emancipation  Proclamation  is 
as  follows : 

Whereas,  on  the  22d  day  of  September,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-two, 


442  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


a proclamation  was  issued  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  containing,  among  other  things,  the  fol- 
lowing, to-wit: 

That  on  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixtv-three,  all  per- 
sons held  as  slaves  within  any  States  or  designated  part 
of  a State,  the  people  whereof  shall  then  be  in  rebellion 
against  the  United  States,  shall  be  then,  thenceforward  and 
forever  free;  and  the  Executive  Government  of  the  United 
States,  including  the  military  and  naval  authority  thereof, 
will  recognize  and  maintain  the  freedom  of  such  persons, 
and  will  do  no  act  or  acts  to  repress  such  persons,  or  any 
of  them,  in  any  efforts  they  may  make  for  their  actual 
freedom. 

That  the  Executive  will,  on  the  first  day  of  January 
aforesaid,  by  proclamation,  designate  the  States  and  parts 
of  States,  if  any,  in  which  the  people  thereof  respectively 
shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States ; and 
the  fact  that  any  State,  or  the  people  thereof,  shall  on  that 
day  be  in  good  faith  represented  in  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  by  members  chosen  thereto  at  elections 
wherein  a majority  of  the  qualified  voters  of  such  State 
shall  have  participated,  shall,  in  the  absence  of  strong 
countervailing  testimony,  be  deemed  conclusive  evidence 
that  such  State,  and  the  people  thereof,  are  not  then  in 
rebellion  against  the  United  States. 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested  as 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the 
United  States  in  time  of  actual  armed  rebellion  against 
the  authority  and  Government  of  the  United  States, 
and  as  a fit  and  necessary  war  measure  for  suppressing 
said  rebellion,  do,  on  this  first  day  of  January,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
three,  and  in  accordance  with  my  purpose  so  to  do, 
publicly  proclaimed  for  the  full  period  of  one  hundred 
days,  from  the  day  first  above  mentioned,  order  and 
designate  as  the  States  and  parts  of  States  wherein 
the  people  thereof  respectively  are  this  day  in  rebellion 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  443 


against  the  United  States,  the  following,  to-wit:  Arkan- 
sas, Texas,  Louisiana  (except  the  parishes  of  St.  Ber- 
nard, Plaquemines,  Jefferson,  St.  John,  St.  Charles, 
St.  James,  Ascension,  Assumption,  Terre  Bonne,  La- 
fourche, Ste.  Marie,  St.  Martin,  and  Orleans,  including 
the  city  of  New  Orleans),  Mississippi,  Alabama, 
Florida,  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  North  Carolina,  and 
Virginia  (except  the  forty-eight  counties  designated  as 
West  Virginia,  and  also  the  counties  of  Berkeley, 
Accomac,  Northampton,  Elizabeth  City,  York,  Prin- 
cess Anne,  and  Norfolk,  including  the  cities  of  Norfolk 
and  Portsmouth),  and  which  excepted  parts  are  for  the 
present  left  precisely  as  if  this  proclamation  were  not 
issued. 

And  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  for  the  purpose 
aforesaid,  I do  order  and  declare  that  all  persons  held 
as  slaves  within  said  designated  States  and  parts  of 
States  are  and  henceforward  shall  be  free  ; and  that 
the  Executive  Government  of  the  United  States,  includ- 
ing the  military  and  naval  authorities  thereof,  will 
recognize  and  maintain  the  freedom  of  said  persons. 

And  I hereby  enjoin  upon  the  people  so  declared  to 
be  free  to  abstain  from  all  violence,  unless  in  necessary 
self-defense;  and  I recommend  to  them  that,  in  all 
cases  when  allowed,  they  labor  faithfully  for  reasonable 
wages. 

And  I further  declare  and  make  known  that  such  per- 
sons, of  suitable  condition,  will  be  received  into  the 
armed  service  of  the  United  States  to  garrison  forts, 
positions,  stations,  and  other  places,  and  to  man  ves- 
sels of  all  sorts  in  said  service. 

And  upon  this  act,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act  of 
justice,  warranted  by  the  Constitution,  upon  military 
necessity,  I invoke  the  considerate  judgment  of  man- 
kind and  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I have  hereunto  set  my  name, 
and  caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  first  day  of 
January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 


444  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


hundred  and  sixty-three,  and  of  the  independence  of 
the  United  States  the  eighty-seventh. 

By  the  President:  Abraham  Lincoln. 

William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State. 

It  is  stated  that  Lincoln  gave  the  most  earnest  study 
to  the  composition  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation. 
He  realized,  as  he  afterwards  said,  that  the  proclama- 
tion was  the  central  act  of  his  administration  and  the 
great  event  of  the  nineteenth  century.  When  the 
document  was  completed  a printed  copy  of  it  was  placed 
in  the  hands  of  each  member  of  the  Cabinet,  and  criti- 
cisms and  suggestions  were  invited.  Mr.  Chase  re- 
marked : “ This  paper  is  of  the  utmost  importance, 
greater  than  any  state  paper  ever  made  by  this  Gov- 
ernment. A paper  of  so  much  importance,  and  in- 
volving the  liberties  of  so  many  people,  ought,  I think, 
to  make  some  reference  to  Deity.  I do  not  observe 
anything  of  the  kind  in  it.”  Lincoln  said:  “No,  I 
overlooked  it.  Some  reference  to  Deity  must  be  in- 
serted. Mr.  Chase,  won’t  you  make  a draft  of  what 
you  think  ought  to  be  inserted?  ” Mr.  Chase  promised 
to  do  so,  and  at  the  next  meeting  presented  the  fol- 
lowing: “ And  upon  this  act,  sincerely  believed  to  be 
an  act  of  justice,  warranted  by  the  Constitution,  upon 
military  necessity,  I invoke  the  considerate  judgment 
of  mankind  and  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God.” 
When  Lincoln  read  the  paragraph,  Mr.  Chase  said: 
“ You  may  not  approve  it,  but  I thought  this,  or  some- 
thing like  it,  would  be  appropriate.”  Lincoln  replied: 
“ I do  approve  it ; it  cannot  be  bettered,  and  I will 
adopt  it  in  the  very  words  you  have  written.” 

To  a large  concourse  of  people  who,  two  days  after 
the  proclamation  was  issued,  assembled  before  the 
White  House,  with  music,  the  President  said:  “What 
I did,  I did  after  a very  full  deliberation,  and  under 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  445 


a heavy  and  solemn  sense  of  responsibility.  I can  only 
trust  in  God  I have  made  no  mistake.”  That  he  real- 
ized to  the  full  the  gravity  of  the  step  before  taking  it 
is  shown  again  in  an  incident  related  by  Hon.  John 
Covode,  who,  calling  on  the  President  a few  days  before 
the  issue  of  the  final  proclamation,  found  him  walking 
his  room  in  considerable  agitation.  Reference  being 
made  to  the  forthcoming  proclamation,  Lincoln  said 
with  great  earnestness : “ I have  studied  that  matter 
well;  my  mind  is  made  up  — it  must  be  done.  I am 
driven  to  it.  There  is  to  me  no  other  way  out  of  our 
troubles.  But  although  my  duty  is  plain,  it  is  in 
some  respects  painful,  and  I trust  the  people  will 
understand  that  I act  not  in  anger  but  in  expectation 
of  a greater  good.” 

Mr.  Ben.  Perley  Poore  makes  the  interesting  state- 
ment that  “ Mr.  Lincoln  carefully  put  away  the  pen 
which  he  had  used  in  signing  the  document,  for  Mr. 
Sumner,  who  had  promised  it  to  his  friend,  George 
Livermore,  of  Cambridge,  the  author  of  an  interesting 
work  on  slavery.  It  was  a steel  pen  with  a wooden 
handle,  the  end  of  which  had  been  gnawed  by  Mr. 
Lincoln  — a habit  that  he  had  when  composing  any- 
thing that  required  thought.” 

In  response  to  a request  of  the  ladies  in  charge  of 
the  Northwestern  Fair  for  the  Sanitary  Commission, 
which  was  held  in  Chicago  in  the  autumn  of  1863, 
Lincoln  conveyed  to  them  the  original  draft  of  the 
proclamation ; saying,  in  his  note  of  presentation,  “ I 
had  some  desire  to  retain  the  paper;  but  if  it  shall 
contribute  to  the  relief  or  comfort  of  the  soldiers, 
that  will  be  better.”  The  document  was  purchased  at 
the  Fair  by  Mr.  Thomas  B.  Bryan,  and  given  by  him 
to  the  Chicago  Historical  Society.  It  perished  in  the 
great  fire  of  October,  1871. 

More  than  a year  after  the  issue  of  the  Emancipa- 


446  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


tion  Proclamation,  Lincoln,  in  writing  to  a prominent 
Kentucky  Unionist,  gave  a synopsis  of  his  views  and 
course  regarding  slavery,  which  is  so  clear  in  statement, 
and  so  forceful  and  convincing  in  logic,  that  a place 
must  be  given  it  in  this  chapter. 

I am  naturally  anti-slavery.  If  slavery  is  not  wrong, 
nothing  is  wrong.  I cannot  remember  when  I did  not 
so  think  and  feel ; and  yet  I have  never  understood 
that  the  Presidency  conferred  upon  me  an  unrestricted 
right  to  act  officially  upon  this  judgment  and  feeling. 
It  was  in  the  oath  I took  that  I would,  to  the  best  of 
my  ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States.  I could  not  take  the  office 
without  taking  the  oath.  Nor  was  it  my  view  that  I 
might  take  an  oath  to  get  power,  and  break  the  oath 
in  using  the  power.  I understood,  too,  that  in  ordinary 
civil  administration  this  oath  even  forbade  me  to  prac- 
tically indulge  my  primary  abstract  judgment  on  the 
moral  question  of  slavery.  I had  publicly  declared 
this  many  times  and  in  many  ways.  And  I aver  that, 
to  this  day,  I have  done  no  official  act  in  mere  deference 
to  my  abstract  judgment  and  feeling  on  slavery.  I did 
understand,  however,  that  my  oath  to  preserve  the  Con- 
stitution to  the  best  of  my  ability  imposed  upon  me  the 
duty  of  preserving,  by  every  indispensable  means,  that 
Government  — that  Nation  of  which  that  Constitution 
was  the  organic  law.  Was  it  possible  to  lose  the  nation 
and  yet  preserve  the  Constitution?  By  general  law, 
life  and  limb  must  be  protected ; yet  often  a limb  must 
be  amputated  to  save  a life;  but  a life  is  never  wisely 
given  to  save  a limb.  I felt  that  measures,  otherwise 
unconstitutional,  might  become  lawful,  by  becoming  in- 
dispensable to  the  preservation  of  the  Constitution, 
through  the  preservation  of  the  nation.  Right  or 
wrong,  I assumed  this  ground,  and  now  avow  it.  I 
could  not  feel  that,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  I had 
even  tried  to  preserve  the  Constitution,  if,  to  save 
slavery,  or  any  minor  matter,  I should  permit  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  417 


wreck  of  government,  country,  and  constitution,  alto- 
gether. When,  early  in  the  war,  General  Fremont  at- 
tempted military  emancipation,  I forbade  it,  because  I 
did  not  then  think  it  an  indispensable  necessity.  When 
a little  later,  General  Cameron,  then  Secretary  of  War, 
suggested  the  arming  of  the  blacks,  I objected,  because 
I did  not  yet  think  it  an  indispensable  necessity.  When, 
still  later,  General  Hunter  attempted  military  emanci- 
pation, I again  forbade  it,  because  I did  not  yet  think 
the  indispensable  necessity  had  come.  When,  in  March 
and  May  and  July,  1862,  I made  earnest  and  successive 
appeals  to  the  border  States  to  favor  compensated 
emancipation,  I believed  the  indispensable  necessity 
for  military  emancipation  and  arming  the  blacks  would 
come,  unless  averted  by  that  measure.  They  declined 
the  proposition;  and  I was,  in  my  best  judgment, 
driven  to  the  alternative  of  either  surrendering  the 
Union,  and  with  it  the  Constitution,  or  of  laying  strong 
hand  upon  the  colored  element.  I chose  the  latter. 
In  choosing  it,  I hoped  for  greater  gain  than  loss ; but 
of  this  I was  not  entirely  confident.  More  than  a year 
of  trial  now  shows  no  loss  by  it  in  our  foreign  relations, 
none  in  our  home  popular  sentiment,  none  in  our  white 
military  force,  no  loss  by  it  anyhow  or  anywhere.  On 
the  contrary,  it  shows  a gain  of  quite  a hundred  and 
thirty7  thousand  soldiers,  seamen,  and  laborers.  These 
are  palpable  facts,  about  which,  as  facts,  there  can  be 
no  cavilling.  We  have  the  men;  and  as  we  could  not 
have  had  them  without  the  measure. 

And  now  let  any  Union  man  who  complains  of  the 
measure,  test  himself  by  writing  down  in  one  line  that 
he  is  for  subduing  the  rebellion  by  force  of  arms ; and 
in  the  next,  that  he  is  for  taking  three  hundred  and 
thirty  thousand  men  from  the  Union  side,  and  placing 
them  where  they  would  be  but  for  the  measure  he  con- 
demns. If  he  cannot  face  his  case  so  stated,  it  is  only 
because  he  cannot  face  the  truth. 

I attempt  no  compliment  to  my  own  sagacity.  I 
claim  not  to  have  controlled  events,  but  confess  plainly 


448  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


that  events  have  controlled  me.  Now,  at  the  end  of 
three  years’  struggle,  the  nation’s  condition  is  not  what 
either  party  or  any  man  devised  or  expected.  God 
alone  can  claim  it.  Whither  it  is  tending  seems  plain. 
If  God  now  Avills  the  removal  of  a great  wrong,  and 
wdlls  also  that  we  of  the  North,  as  well  as  you  of  the 
South,  shall  pay  fairly  for  our  complicity  in  that 
wrong,  impartial  history  will  find  therein  new  causes 
to  attest  and  revere  the  justice  and  goodness  of  God. 

Yours  truly, 


A.  Lincoln. 


CHAPTER  XXn 


President  and  People  — Society  at  the  White  House  in  1862-3  — The 
President’s  Informal  Receptions  — A Variety  of  Callers  — Charac- 
teristic Traits  of  Lincoln  — His  Ability  to  Say  No  when  Necessary 
— Would  not  Countenance  Injustice  — Good  Sense  and  Tact  in 
Settling  Quarrels  — ■ His  Shrewd  Knowledge  of  Men  — Getting  Rid 
of  Bores  — Loyalty  to  his  Friends  — Views  of  his  Own  Position  — 
“Attorney  for  the  People”  — Desire  that  they  Should  Under- 
stand him  — ■ His  Practical  Kindness  — A Badly  Scared  Petitioner 
— Telling  a Story  to  Relieve  Bad  News  — A Breaking  Heart 
beneath  the  Smiles  — His  Deeply  Religious  Nature  — The  Changes 
Wrought  by  Grief. 

IN  a work  which  is  not  intended  to  cover  fully  the 
events  of  a great  historic  period,  but  rather  to  trace 
out  the  life  of  a single  individual  connected  with  that 
period,  much  must  be  included  which,  although  not 
possessing  special  historical  significance,  cannot  be  over- 
looked in  a personal  study  of  the  subject  of  the  biog- 
raphy. Lincoln’s  life  as  President  was  by  no  means 
made  up  of  Cabinet  meetings,  official  messages  and 
proclamations,  or  reviews  of  armies ; interspersed  with 
these  conspicuous  acts  was  a multitude  of  less  heroic 
but  scarcely  less  interesting  details,  with  incidents  and 
experiences  humorous  or  sad,  but  all,  even  the  most 
trivial,  being  expressions  of  the  life  and  character  of 
the  man  whom  we  are  seeking  to  portray. 

“ Society,”  as  now  understood  at  the  national  capi- 
tal, had  but  little  existence  during  the  war.  At  the 
White  House  there  were  the  usual  President’s  recep- 
tions, which  were  quite  public  in  character  and  were 
largely  attended.  Aside  from  these  democratic  gather- 
ings there  was  little  enough  of  gaiety.  The  feeling 
that  prevailed  is  shown  by  an  incident  that  occurred 


450  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


during  the  winter  of  1862-3,  when  a good  deal  of 
clamor  was  raised  over  a party  given  by  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
at  which,  it  was  asserted,  dancing  was  indulged  in ; 
and  Mrs.  Lincoln  was  severely  censured  for  what  was 
regarded  as  inexcusable  frivolity.  Hon.  A.  G.  Riddle, 
who  was  present  on  the  occasion  referred  to,  states 
positively  that  thei’e  was  no  dancing;  the  party  was 
a quiet  one,  intended  only  to  relieve  the  rather  dull 
and  formal  receptions.  But  the  President  was  pained 
by  the  rumors  that  “ fashionable  balls  ” were  per- 
mitted at  the  White  House  in  war-time ; and  the  party 
was  not  repeated. 

It  was  the  custom  of  President  Lincoln  to  open, 
twice  a week,  the  doors  of  his  office  in  the  Executive 
Mansion  for  the  admission  of  all  visitors  who  might 
wish  to  speak  with  him.  These  brief  interviews,  quite 
devoid  of  ceremony,  seemed  to  reveal  the  man  in  his 
true  character,  and  to  set  forth  the  salient  traits  that 
fitted  him  for  his  great  position,  and  endeared  him 
so  greatly  to  the  popular  heart.  They  showed  how 
easily  accessible  he  was  to  all  classes  of  citizens,  how 
readily  he  could  adapt  himself  to  people  of  any  station 
or  degree,  how  deep  and  true  were  his  human  sympa- 
thies, how  quickly  and  keenly  he  could  discriminate 
character,  and  how  heartily  he  detested  meanness  and 
all  unworthy  acts  and  appliances  to  compass  a selfish 
or  sordid  end.  On  these  occasions,  as  may  well  be 
imagined,  many  curious  incidents  occurred.  Lincoln 
was  usually  clad  “ in  a black  broadcloth  suit,  nothing 
in  his  dress  betokening  disregard  of  conventionality, 
save  perhaps  his  neat  cloth  slippers,  which  were  doubt- 
less worn  for  comfort.  He  was  seated  beside  a plain 
cloth-covered  table,  in  a commodious  arm-chair.”  As 
each  visitor  approached  the  President  he  was  greeted 
with  an  encouraging  nod  and  smile,  and  a few  moments 
were  cordially  given  him  in  which  to  state  the  object 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  451 


of  the  visit;  the  President  listening  with  the  most  re- 
spectful and  patient  attention,  and  deciding  each  case 
with  tact,  sympathy,  and  good  humor.  44  His  Yes,” 
says  Mr.  Riddle,  44  was  most  gracious  and  satisfactory ; 
his  No,  when  reached,  was  often  spoken  by  the  peti- 
tioner, and  left  only  a soothed  disappointment.  He 
saw  the  point  of  a case  unerringly.  He  had  a con- 
fidence in  the  homely  views  and  speech  of  the  common 
people,  with  whom  his  heart  and  sympathies  ever  were.” 

At  these  informal  meetings  with  people  who  usually 
wanted  some  favor  from  him,  no  case  was  too  trivial 
to  receive  his  attention.  Taking  advantage  of  the  op- 
portunity, there  came  one  day,  says  Mr.  C.  Van  Sant- 
voord,  “ a sturdy,  honest-looking  German  soldier,  minus 
a leg,  who  hobbled  up  to  the  President  on  crutches. 
In  consideration  of  his  disabled  condition,  he  wanted 
some  situation  about  Washington,  the  duties  of  which 
he  might  be  able  to  discharge ; and  he  had  come  to  the 
President,  hoping  that  he  would  provide  the  desired 
situation  for  him.  On  being  interrogated  as  to  how 
he  had  lost  his  leg,  he  answered  that  it  was  the  effect 
of  a wound  received  in  battle,  mentioning  the  time  and 
the  place.  4 Let  me  look  at  your  papers,’  said  Mr. 
Lincoln.  The  man  replied  that  he  had  none,  and  that 
he  supposed  his  word  would  be  sufficient.  4 What ! ’ 
exclaimed  the  President,  4 no  papers,  no  credentials, 
nothing  to  show  how  you  lost  your  leg!  How  am  I 
to  know  that  you  did  not  lose  it  by  a trap  after  get- 
ting into  somebody’s  orchard?  ’ This  was  spoken  with 
a droll  expression  which  amused  the  bystanders,  all 
except  the  applicant,  who  with  a very  solemn  visage 
earnestly  protested  the  truth  of  his  statement,  mutter- 
ing something  about  the  reasons  for  not  being  able 
to  produce  his  papers.  4 Well,  well,’  said  the  President, 
4 it  is  a little  risky  for  an  army  man  to  be  wandering 
around  without  papers  to  show  where  he  belongs  and 


452  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


what  he  is,  but  I will  see  what  can  be  done  for  you.’ 
And  taking  a blank  card  from  a little  pile  of  similar 
blanks  on  the  table,  he  wrote  some  lines  upon  it,  ad- 
dressed it,  and  handing  it  to  the  man  bade  him  deliver 
it  to  a certain  quartermaster,  who  would  attend  to  his 
case.” 

The  President  could,  however,  be  emphatic  and  even 
severe  when  necessary  on  such  occasions.  One  day,  we 
are  told,  “ he  was  approached  by  a man  apparently 
sixty  years  of  age,  with  dress  and  manner  which  showed 
that  he  was  acquainted  with  the  usages  of  good  society, 
whose  whole  exterior,  indeed,  would  have  favorably  im- 
pressed people  who  form  opinions  from  appearances. 
The  object  of  his  visit  was  to  solicit  aid  in  some  com- 
mission project,  for  the  success  of  which  Mr.  Lincoln’s 
favor  was  regarded  as  essential.  The  President  heard 
him  patiently,  but  demurred  against  being  connected 
with  or  countenancing  the  affair,  suggesting  mildly  that 
the  applicant  would  better  set  up  an  office  of  the  kind 
described,  and  run  it  in  his  own  way  and  at  his  own 
risk.  The  man  pleaded  his  advanced  years  and  ob- 
scurity as  a reason  for  not  attempting  this,  but  said 
if  the  President  would  only  let  him  use  his  name  to 
advertise  and  recommend  the  enterprise,  he  would  then, 
he  thought,  need  nothing  more.  At  this  the  eyes  of 
the  President  flashed  with  sudden  indignation,  and  his 
whole  aspect  and  manner  underwent  a portentous 
change.  ‘ No ! ’ he  broke  forth,  with  startling  vehe- 
mence, springing  from  his  seat  under  the  impulse  of 
his  emotion.  ‘ No ! I ’ll  have  nothing  to  do  with  this 
business,  nor  with  any  man  who  comes  to  me  with  such 
degrading  propositions.  What ! Do  you  take  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  be  a commission 
broker?  You  have  come  to  the  wrong  place;  and  for 
you  and  every  one  who  comes  for  such  purposes,  there 
is  the  door ! ’ The  man’s  face  blanched  as  he  cowered 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  453 


and  slunk  away  confounded,  without  uttering  a word. 
The  President’s  wrath  subsided  as  speedily  as  it  had 
risen.” 

Another  example  of  Lincoln’s  power  to  dispose  sum- 
marily of  people  who  tried  his  patience  too  far  is  given 
by  Secretary  Welles,  who  records  that  a Mrs.  White 
— a sister  or  half-sister  of  Mrs.  Lincoln  — made  her- 
self so  obnoxious  as  a Southern  sympathizer  in  Wash- 
ington in  1864,  that  the  President  sent  her  word  that 
“ if  she  did  not  leave  forthwith  she  might  expect  to 
find  herself  within  twenty-four  hours  in  the  Old  Capitol 
Prison.” 

With  all  his  kindness  and  desire  to  do  what  was 
asked  of  him,  Lincoln  could  not  be  persuaded  to  con- 
sent to  anything  which  he  felt  to  be  distinctly  wrong, 
regardless  of  any  unfavorable  consequences  which  his 
refusal  might  bring  upon  himself.  When  the  members 
of  Congress  from  Minnesota,  late  in  1862,  called  on 
him  in  a body  to  urge  him  to  order  the  execution  of 
three  hundred  Indian  prisoners,  captured  in  their  State 
and  charged  with  great  atrocities,  he  positively  refused, 
although  realizing  that  it  might  cost  him  the  support 
of  those  members  of  the  House,  which  he  greatly  needed 
at  that  time. 

“ The  President  is  always  disposed  to  mitigate 
punishments  and  grant  favors,”  says  a member  of  his 
Cabinet.  “ As  a matter  of  duty  and  friendship,  I one 
day  mentioned  to  him  the  case  of  Laura  Jones,  a young 
lady  residing  in  Richmond  and  there  engaged  to  be  mar- 
ried, who  came  up  three  years  ago  to  attend  her  sick 
mother  and  had  been  unable  to  pass  through  the  lines 
and  return.  A touching  appeal  was  made  by  the  poor 
girl,  who  truly  says  her  youth  is  passing.  The  Presi- 
dent at  once  said  he  would  give  her  a pass.  I told 
him  her  sympathies  were  with  the  secessionists.  But 
he  said  he  would  let  her  go ; the  war  had  depopulated 


454  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 

the  country  and  prevented  marriages  enough,  and  if 
he  could  do  a kindness  of  this  sort  he  would  do  it.” 

Another  applicant  for  a pass  through  the  lines  was 
less  fortunate  than  the  one  just  noted.  One  day,  in  the 
spring  of  1862,  a gentleman  from  some  Northern 
city  entered  Lincoln’s  private  office,  and  earnestly  re- 
quested a pass  to  Richmond.  “ A pass  to  Richmond ! ” 
exclaimed  the  President.  “ Why,  my  dear  sir,  if  I 
should  give  you  one  it  would  do  you  no  good.  You 
may  think  it  very  strange,  but  there  ’s  a lot  of  fellows 
between  here  and  Richmond  who  either  can’t  read  or 
are  prejudiced  against  every  man  who  totes  a pass 
from  me.  I have  given  McClellan  and  more  than  two 
hundred  thousand  others  passes  to  Richmond,  and  not 
a single  one  of  'em,  has  got  there  yet!” 

Lincoln  sometimes  had  a very  effective  way  of  deal- 
ing with  men  who  asked  troublesome  or  improper  ques- 
tions. A visitor  once  asked  him  how  many  men  the 
rebels  had  in  the  field.  The  President  replied,  very 
seriously,  “ Twelve  hundred  thousand,  according  to  the 
best  authority.”  The  interrogator  blanched  in  the  face, 
and  ejaculated,  “Good  heavens!”  “Yes,  sir,  twelve 
hundred  thousand  — no  doubt  of  it.  You  see,  all  of 
our  generals,  when  they  get  whipped,  say  the  enemy 
outnumbered  them  from  three  or  five  to  one,  and  I must 
believe  them.  We  have  four  hundred  thousand  men  in 
the  field,  and  three  times  four  makes  twelve.  Don’t 
you  see  it?  ” 

Among  the  many  illustrations  of  the  sturdy  sense 
and  firmness  of  Lincoln’s  character,  the  following  should 
be  recorded:  During  the  early  part  of  1863  the  Union 
men  in  Missouri  were  divided  into  two  factions,  which 
waged  a bitter  controversy  with  each  other.  General 
Curtis,  commander  of  the  military  district  comprising 
Missouri,  Kansas,  and  Arkansas,  was  at  the  head  of 
one  faction,  while  Governor  Gamble  led  the  other. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  455 


Their  differences  were  a source  of  great  embarrassment 
to  the  Government  at  Washington,  and  of  harm  to  the 
Union  cause.  The  President  was  in  constant  receipt 
of  remonstrances  and  protests  from  the  contesting  par- 
ties, to  one  of  which  he  made  the  following  curt  reply : 

Your  despatch  of  to-day  is  just  received.  It  is  very 
painful  to  me  that  you  in  Missouri  cannot,  or  will  not, 
settle  your  factional  quarrel  among  yourselves.  I have 
been  tormented  with  it  beyond  endurance,  for  months, 
by  both  sides.  Neither  side  pays  the  least  respect  to 
my  appeals  to  reason.  I am  now  compelled  to  take 
hold  of  the  case.  A.  Lincoln. 

The  President  promptly  followed  up  this  warning  by 
removing  General  Curtis,  and  appointing  in  his  place 
General  Schofield,  to  whom  he  soon  after  addressed  the 
following  letter: 

Executive  Mansion,  Washington, 

May  27,  1863. 

General  J.  M.  Schofield. 

Dear  Sir:  Having  removed  General  Curtis  and  as- 
signed you  to  the  command  of  the  Department  of  the 
Missouri,  I think  it  may  be  of  some  advantage  to  me 
to  state  to  you  why  I did  it.  I did  not  remove  Gen- 
eral Curtis  because  of  my  full  conviction  that  he  had 
done  wrong  by  commission  or  omission.  I did  it  be- 
cause of  a conviction  in  my  mind  that  the  Union  men 
of  Missouri,  constituting,  when  united,  a vast  majority 
of  the  people,  have  entered  into  a pestilent,  factious 
quarrel  among  themselves  ; General  Curtis,  perhaps  not 
of  choice,  being  the  head  of  one  faction,  and  Governor 
Gamble  that  of  the  other.  After  months  of  labor  to 
reconcile  the  difficulty,  it  seemed  to  grow  worse  and 
worse,  until  I felt  it  my  duty  to  break  it  up  somehow, 
and  as  I could  not  remove  Governor  Gamble,  I had 
to  remove  General  Curtis.  Now  that  you  are  in  the 
position,  I wish  you  to  undo  nothing  merely  because 


456  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


General  Curtis  or  Governor  Gamble  did  it,  but  to  ex- 
ercise your  own  judgment,  and  do  right  for  the  public 
interest.  Let  your  military  measures  be  strong  enough 
to  repel  the  invaders  and  keep  the  peace,  and  not  so 
strong  as  to  unnecessarily  harass  and  persecute  the 
people.  It  is  a difficult  role,  and  so  much  greater  will 
be  the  honor  if  you  perform  it  well.  If  both  factions, 
or  neither,  shall  abuse  you,  you  will  probably  be  about 
right.  Beware  of  being  assailed  by  one  and  praised 
by  the  other. 

Yours  truly,  A.  Lincoln. 

Firm  and  unyielding  as  he  was  when  necessity  com- 
pelled him  to  be,  Lincoln  was  by  nature  a peace-maker, 
and  was  ever  anxious  that  personal  differences  be  ad- 
justed happily.  In  his  efforts  to  this  end  he  never 
failed  to  show  tact  and  shrewdness,  and  would  if  neces- 
sary sacrifice  his  own  preferences  in  the  interests  of 
peace  and  harmony.  A characteristic  instance  of  the 
exercise  of  these  traits  occurred  in  connection  with  the 
Missouri  troubles  just  referred  to.  General  Schofield’s 
course  in  command  of  his  department  proved  satisfac- 
tory, and  he  had  been  nominated  for  a Major-General’s 
commission.  He  was,  however,  a somewhat  conservative 
man,  and  in  spite  of  his  efforts  to  carry  out  the  Presi- 
dent’s injunctions  of  impartiality,  he  had  given  offense 
to  certain  Missouri  radicals,  who  now  opposed  his  pro- 
motion, and  were  able  to  exert  sufficient  influence  in 
the  Senate  to  prevent  the  confirmation  of  his  appoint- 
ment as  a Major-General.  The  Missouri  delegation 
appealed  to  the  more  radical  Senators,  and  the  nomi- 
nation was  “ hung  up  ” for  about  six  weeks.  Lincoln 
was  very  desirous  that  it  should  be  confirmed,  and  the 
Missouri  Congressmen  were  equally  bent  on  its  defeat. 
In  this  dilemma,  Lincoln  sent  for  Senator  Zack  Chand- 
ler of  Michigan,  and  proposed  a compromise.  “ Gen- 
eral Rosecrans,”  said  he,  “ has  a great  many  friends ; 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  457 


he  fought  the  battle  of  Stone  River  and  won  a brilliant 
victory,  and  his  advocates  begin  to  grumble  about  his 
treatment.  Now,  I will  tell  you  what  I have  been 
thinking  about.  If  you  will  confirm  Schofield  in  the 
Senate,  I will  remove  him  from  the  command  in  Mis- 
souri and  send  him  down  to  Sherman.  That  will  satisfy 
the  radicals.  Then  I will  send  Rosecrans  to  Missouri, 
and  that  will  please  the  latter’s  friends.  In  this  way 
the  whole  thing  can  be  harmonized.”  As  soon  as  the 
Senate  grasped  the  plan  of  the  President  there  was  no 
longer  any  opposition  to  the  confirmation  of  Schofield. 
He  was  sent  to  join  Sherman  in  the  South,  Rosecrans 
was  appointed  to  the  command  in  Missouri,  and  every- 
thing worked  harmoniously  and  pleasantly  as  the  Presi- 
dent had  predicted  and  desired. 

Secretary  Welles  remarks  that  “ the  President  was  a 
much  more  shrewd  and  accurate  observer  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  men- — -better  and  more  correctly  formed 
an  estimate  of  their  power  and  capabilities  — than  the 
Secretary  of  State  or  most  others.  Those  in  the  public 
service  he  closely  scanned,  but  was  deliberate  in  forming 
a conclusion  adverse  to  any  one  he  had  appointed.  In 
giving  or  withdrawing  confidence  he  was  discriminating 
and  just  in  his  final  decision,  careful  never  to  wound 
unnecessai'ily  the  sensibilities  of  any  of  their  infirmi- 
ties, always  ready  to  praise,  but  nevertheless  firm  and 
resolute  in  discharging  the  to  him  always  painful  duty 
of  censure,  reproof,  or  dismissal.”  As  an  instance  of 
this  sure  judgment  of  the  abilities  and  characters  of 
men,  Mr.  Welles  gives  an  anecdote  relating  to  the  naval 
movement  under  Admiral  Du  Pont,  against  Charleston, 
S.  C.  “ One  day,”  says  Mr.  Welles,  “ the  President 
said  to  me  that  he  had  but  slight  expectation  that  we 
should  have  any  great  success  from  Du  Pont.  ‘ He, 
as  well  as  McClellan,’  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  ‘ hesitates  — 
has  the  slows.  McClellan  always  wanted  more  regi- 


458  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


ments ; Du  Pont  is  everlastingly  asking  for  more  gun- 
boats — more  iron-clads.  He  will  do  nothing  with  any. 
He  has  intelligence  and  system  and  will  maintain  a 
good  blockade.  You  did  well  in  selecting  him  for  that 
command,  but  he  will  never  take  Sumter  or  get  to 
Charleston.  He  is  no  Farragut,  though  unquestion- 
ably a good  routine  officer,  who  obeys  orders  and  in  a 
general  way  carries  out  his  instructions.’  ” The  out- 
come of  events  proved  the  soundness  of  Lincoln’s 
judgment. 

Lo}ralty  to  his  friends  was  always  a strong  trait  of 
Lincoln’s  character.  It  was  put  to  the  proof  daily 
during  his  life  in  Washington.  Mr.  Gurdon  S.  Hub- 
bard, in  a brief  but  interesting  memorial,  relates  one 
or  two  interviews  held  with  the  President,  in  which  the 
simplicity  of  his  character  and  his  fidelity  to  old  friend- 
ships appear  very  conspicuously.  Mr.  Hubbard’s  ac- 
quaintance with  Lincoln  was  of  long  standing.  “ I 
called  on  him  in  Washington  the  year  of  his  inaugura- 
tion,” says  Mr.  Hubbard,  “ and  was  alone  with  him 
for  an  hour  or  more.  I found  him  greatly  changed, 
his  countenance  bearing  an  expression  of  great  mental 
anxiety.  The  whole  topic  of  our  conversation  was  the 
war,  which  affected  him  deeply.  . . . Two  years  after, 
I again  visited  Washington,  and  went  to  the  White 
House  to  pay  my  respects,  in  company  with  my  friend 
Thomas  L.  Forrest.  It  was  Saturday;  and,  as  usual, 
about  six  o’clock  the  band  from  the  navy-yard  appeared 
and  began  to  play.  The  President,  with  Adjutant- 
General  Thomas,  was  seated  on  the  balcony.  The 
crowd  was  great,  marching  compactly  past  the  Presi- 
dent, the  men  raising  their  hats  in  salutation.  As  my 
friend  and  myself  passed  he  said  to  me,  ‘ The  President 
seems  to  notice  you  — turn  toward  him.’  * No,’  I said, 

4 1 don’t  care  to  be  recognized.’  At  that  instant  Mr. 
Lincoln  started  from  his  seat,  advancing  quickly  to  the 


EVERY -BAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  459 


iron  railing,  and  leaning  over,  beckoning  with  his  long 
arm,  called : 4 Hubbard ! Hubbard ! come  here ! ’ I 
left  the  ranks  and  ascended  the  stone  steps  to  the  gate 
of  the  balcony,  which  was  locked,  General  Thomas  say- 
ing, 4 Wait  a moment,  I will  get  the  key.’  4 Never 
mind,  General,’  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  4 Hubbard  is  used 
to  jumping  — he  can  scale  that  fence.’  I climbed  over, 
and  for  about  an  hour  we  conversed  and  watched  the 
large  crowd,  the  rebel  flag  being  in  sight  on  Arlington 
Heights.  This  was  the  last  time  I ever  saw  his  face 
in  life.” 

It  was  noted  by  those  about  Lincoln  during  his  resi- 
dence at  the  White  House  that  he  usually  avoided 
speaking  of  himself  as  President  or  making  any  refer- 
ence to  the  office  which  he  held.  He  used  some  such 
roundabout  phrase  as  44  since  I came  into  this  place,” 
instead  of  saying  44  since  I became  President.”  The 
war  he  usually  spoke  of  as  44  this  great  trouble,”  and  he 
almost  never  alluded  to  the  enemy  as  44  Confederates  ” 
or  44  the  Confederate  Government.”  He  had  an  uncon- 
querable reluctance  to  appear  to  lead  public  opinion, 
and  often  spoke  of  himself  as  the  44  attorney  for  the 
people.”  Once,  however,  when  a Senator  was  urging 
on  him  a certain  course  which  the  President  was  not 
disposed  to  pursue,  the  Senator  said,  44  You  say  you 
are  the  people’s  attorney.  Now,  you  will  admit  that 
this  course  would  be  most  popular.”  44  But  I am  not 
going  to  let  my  client  manage  the  case  against  my 
judgment,”  Lincoln  replied  quickly.  44  As  long  as  I 
am  attorney  for  the  people  I shall  manage  the  case  to 
the  best  of  my  ability.  They  will  have  a chance  to 
put  me  out  by  and  by  if  my  management  is  not 
satisfactory.” 

The  President  was  so  tormented  by  visitors  seeking 
interviews  for  every  sort  of  frivolous  and  impertinent 
matter,  that  he  resorted  sometimes,  in  desperation,  to 


460  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


curious  and  effective  inventions  to  rid  himself  of  the 
intolerable  nuisance.  At  one  time,  when  he  was  im- 
portuned by  some  influential  people  to  interfere  to 
prevent  the  punishment  of  certain  persons  convicted  of 
fraudulent  dealings  with  the  government  — a class  of 
cases  too  common  at  that  time  — the  President  wrote 
Secretary  Welles  that  he  desired  to  see  the  records  of 
the  case  before  it  was  disposed  of.  Upon  Mr.  Welles 
calling  upon  him  with  the  desired  information,  the  Presi- 
dent said,  as  if  by  way  of  apology,  “ There  was  no 
way  to  get  rid  of  the  crowd  that  was  upon  me  but  by 
sending  you  a note.”  On  another  occasion,  when  he 
had  been  quite  ill,  and  therefore  less  inclined  than  usual 
to  listen  to  these  bores,  one  of  them  had  just  seated 
himself  for  a long  visit,  when  the  President’s  physician 
happened  to  enter  the  room,  and  Lincoln  said,  holding 
out  his  hands,  “ Doctor,  what  are  these  blotches  ? ” 
“ That ’s  varioloid,  or  mild  small-pox,”  said  the  doctor. 
“ They  ’re  all  over  me.  It  is  contagious,  I believe,” 
said  Lincoln.  “ Very  contagious,  indeed ! ” replied  the 
doctor.  “ Well,  I can’t  stop,  Mr.  Lincoln  ; I just  called 
to  see  how  you  were,”  said  the  visitor.  “ Oh,  don’t 
be  in  a hurry,  sir ! ” placidly  remarked  the  Executive. 
“ Thank  you,  sir ; I ’ll  call  again,”  replied  the  visitor, 
executing  a masterly  retreat  from  the  White  House. 
“ Some  people,”  said  the  President,  looking  after  him, 
“ said  they  could  not  take  very  well  to  my  proclama- 
tion ; but  now,  I am  happy  to  say,  I have  something 
that  everybody  can  take .” 

Among  the  innumerable  nuisances  and  “ cranks  ” who 
called  on  Lincoln  at  the  White  House,  were  the  many 
who  sought  to  win  his  favor  by  claiming  to  have 
been  the  first  to  suggest  his  nomination  as  President. 
One  of  these  claimants,  who  was  the  editor  of  a weekly 
paper  published  in  a little  village  in  Missouri,  called 
one  day,  and  was  admitted  to  Lincoln’s  presence.  He 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  461 


at  once  began  explaining  that  he  was  the  man  who 
first  suggested  Lincoln’s  name  for  the  Presidency,  and 
pulling  from  his  pocket  an  old,  worn,  defaced  copy  of 
his  paper,  exhibited  to  the  President  an  item  on  the 
subject.  “ Do  you  really  think,”  said  Lincoln,  “ that 
announcement  was  the  occasion  of  my  nomination?  ” 
“ Certainly,”  said  the  editor,  “ the  suggestion  was  so 
opportune  that  it  was  at  once  taken  up  by  other  papers, 
and  the  result  was  your  nomination  and  election.” 
“ All,  well,”  said  Lincoln,  with  a sigh,  and  assuming  a 
rather  gloomy  countenance,  “ I am  glad  to  see  you  and 
to  know  this ; but  you  will  have  to  excuse  me,  I am 
just  going  to  the  War  Department  to  see  Mr.  Stanton.” 
“Well,”  said  the  editor,  “I  will  walk  over  with  you.” 
The  President,  with  that  apt  good  nature  so  charac- 
teristic of  him,  took  up  his  hat  and  said,  “ Come  along.” 
When  they  reached  the  door  of  the  Secretary’s  office, 
Mr.  Lincoln  turned  to  his  companion  and  said,  “ I 
shall  have  to  see  Mr.  Stanton  alone,  and  you  must 
excuse  me,”  and  taking  him  by  the  hand  he  continued, 
“ Good-bye.  I hope  you  will  feel  perfectly  easy  about 
having  nominated  me ; don’t  be  troubled  about  it ; I 
forgive  you.” 

A gentleman  who,  after  the  dreadful  disaster  at 
Fredericksburg,  called  at  the  White  House  with  news 
direct  from  the  front,  says  that  Lincoln  appeared  so 
overwhelmed  with  grief  that  he  was  led  to  remark,  “ I 
heartily  wish  I might  be  a welcome  messenger  of  good 
news  instead,  — that  I could  tell  you  how  to  conquer 
or  get  rid  of  these  rebellious  States.”  Looking  up 
quickly,  with  a marked  change  of  expression,  Lincoln 
said:  “That  reminds  me  of  two  boys  in  Illinois  who 
took  a short  cut  across  an  orchard,  and  did  not  be- 
come aware  of  the  presence  of  a vicious  dog  until  it 
was  too  late  to  reach  either  fence.  One  was  spry 
enough  to  escape  the  attack  by  climbing  a tree;  but 


462  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


the  other  started  around  the  tree,  with  the  dog  in  hot 
pursuit,  until  by  making  smaller  circles  than  it  was 
possible  for  his  pursuer  to  make,  he  gained  sufficiently 
to  grasp  the  dog’s  tail,  and  held  with  desperate  grip 
until  nearly  exhausted,  when  he  hailed  his  companion 
and  called  to  him  to  come  down.  ‘What  for?’  said 
the  boy.  ‘ I want  you  to  help  me  let  this  dog  go.’  If 
I could  only  let  them  go ! ” said  the  President,  in  con- 
clusion ; “ but  that  is  the  trouble.  I am  compelled  to 
hold  on  to  them  and  make  them  stay.” 

In  speaking  of  Lincoln’s  fortitude  under  his  trials 
and  sufferings,  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  wrote: 
“ Although  we  believe  he  has  never  made  any  religious 
profession,  we  see  evidence  that  in  passing  through  this 
dreadful  national  crisis  he  has  been  forced  by  the  very 
anguish  of  the  struggle  to  look  upward,  where  any 
rational  creature  must  look  for  support.  No  man  has 
suffered  more  and  deeper,  albeit  with  a dry,  weary, 
patient  pain,  that  seemed  to  some  like  insensibility. 
‘ Whichever  way  it  ends,’  he  said  to  the  writer,  ‘ I have 
the  impression  that  I sha’n’t  last  long  after  it ’s  over.’ 
After  the  dreadful  repulse  of  Fredericksburg,  his  heavy 
eyes  and  worn  and  weary  air  told  how  our  reverses 
wore  upon  him ; and  yet  there  was  a never-failing  fund 
of  patience  at  bottom  that  sometimes  rose  to  the  sur- 
face in  some  droll,  quaint  saying  or  story,  that  forced 
a laugh  even  from  himself.” 

The  care  and  sorrow  which  Lincoln  was  called  upon 
to  endure  in  the  responsibilities  of  his  high  position 
graved  their  melancholy  marks  on  each  feature  of  his 
face.  He  was  a changed  man.  A pathetic  picture  of 
his  appearance  at  this  time  is  given  by  his  old  friend, 
Noah  Brooks,  whose  description  of  him  as  he  appeared 
in  1856,  on  the  stump  in  Ogle  County,  has  already  been 
given  a place  in  these  pages.  “ I did  not  see  Lincoln 
again,”  says  Mr.  Brooks,  “ until  1862,  when  I went  to 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  463 


Washington  as  a newspaper  correspondent  from  Cali- 
fornia. When  Lincoln  was  on  the  stump  in  1856,  his 
face,  though  naturally  sallow,  had  a rosy  flush.  His 
eyes  were  full  and  bright,  and  he  was  in  the  fulness 
of  health  and  vigor.  I shall  never  forget  the  shock 
which  the  sight  of  him  gave  me  six  years  later  in  1862, 
I took  it  for  granted  that  he  had  forgotten  the  young 
man  whom  he  had  met  five  or  six  times  during  the 
Fremont  and  Dayton  Campaign.  He  was  now  Presi- 
dent, and  was,  like  Brutus,  4 vexed  with  many  cares.’ 
The  change  which  a few  j^ears  had  made  was  simply 
appalling.  His  whiskers  had  grown  and  had  given 
additional  cadaverousness  to  his  face  as  it  appeared 
to  me.  The  light  seemed  to  have  gone  out  of  his  eyes, 
which  were  sunken  far  under  his  enormous  brows.  But 
there  was  over  his  whole  face  an  expression  of  sadness, 
and  a far-away  look  in  the  eyes,  which  were  utterly 
unlike  the  Lincoln  of  other  days.  I was  intensely  dis- 
appointed. I confess  that  I was  so  pained  that  I 
could  almost  have  shed  tears.” 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


Lincoln’s  Home-life  in  the  White  House  — Comfort  in  the  Companion- 
ship of  his  Youngest  Son  — “Little  Tad”  the  Bright  Spot  in  the 
White  House  — The  President  and  his  Little  Boy  Reviewing  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  — - Various  Phases  of  Lincoln’s  Character — - 
His  Literary  Tastes  — Fondness  for  Poetry  and  Music  — His  Re- 
markable Memory  — Not  a Latin  Scholar  — Never  Read  a Novel 
— Solace  in  Theatrical  Representation  — Anecdotes  of  Booth  and 
McCullough — Methods  of  Literary  Work — Lincoln  as  an  Orator — • 
Caution  in  Impromptu  Speeches  — His  Literary  Style  — Manage- 
ment of  his  Private  Correspondence  — Knowledge  of  Woodcraft  — - 
Trees  and  Human  Character  — Exchanging  Views  with  Professor 
Agassiz  — Magnanimity  toward  Opponents  — Righteous  Indigna- 
tion — Lincoln’s  Religious  Nature. 

OF  the  two  sons  left  to  Lincoln  after  the  death 
of  Willie  in  1862,  Robert,  the  older,  was  a stu- 
dent in  Harvard  College  until  appointed  to  service  on 
the  staff  of  General  Grant ; and  “ Little  Tad,”  or 
Thomas,  the  youngest,  was  the  only  one  remaining  in 
the  White  House  during  the  last  hard  years.  He  was 
ten  years  old  in  1863,  a bright  and  lovable  child,  with 
whom  his  father  was  associated  in  constant  and  affec- 
tionate companionship.  The  boy  was  much  with  him 
in  his  walks  and  journeys  about  Washington,  and  even 
in  his  visits  to  the  army  in  the  field.  The  father  would 
often  gain  a brief  respite  from  his  heavy  cares  by 
sharing  in  the  sports  and  frolics  of  the  light-hearted 
boy,  who  was  a general  favorite  at  the  White  House, 
where  he  was  free  to  go  and  come  at  will.  No  matter 
who  was  with  the  President,  or  how  intently  he  might 
be  absorbed,  little  Tad  was  always  welcome.  “ It  was 
an  impressive  and  affecting  sight,”  says  Mr.  Carpenter, 
an  inmate  of  the  White  House  for  several  months,  “ to 
see  the  burdened  President  lost  for  the  time  being  in 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  465 


the  affectionate  parent,  as  he  would  take  the  little  fel- 
low in  his  arms  upon  the  withdrawal  of  visitors,  and 
caress  him  with  all  the  fondness  of  a mother  for  the 
babe  upon  her  bosom.”  Hon.  W.  D.  Kelley,  a member 
of  Congress  at  that  time,  says : “ I think  no  father 
ever  loved  his  children  more  fondly  than  he.  The 
President  never  seemed  grander  in  my  sight  than  when, 
stealing  upon  him  in  the  evening,  I would  find  him  with 
a book  open  before  him,  with  little  Tad  beside  him. 
There  were,  of  course,  a great  many  curious  books 
sent  to  him,  and  it  seemed  to  be  one  of  the  special 
delights  of  his  life  to  open  those  books  at  a time 
when  his  boy  could  stand  beside  him,  and  they  could 
talk  as  he  turned  over  the  pages,  the  father  thus 
giving  to  the  son  a portion  of  that  care  and  attention 
of  which  he  was  ordinarily  deprived  by  the  heavy 
duties  pressing  upon  him.”  Tad  lived  to  be  eighteen 
years  old,  dying  in  Chicago  in  1871.  It  was  well  said 
of  him  that  he  “ gave  to  the  sad  and  solemn  White 
House  the  only  comic  relief  it  knew.” 

When  President  Lincoln  visited  General  Hooker’s 
headquarters  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  just  be- 
fore the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  little  Tad  went  with 
him,  and  rode  with  his  father  and  General  Hooker 
through  the  grand  reviews  that  were  held.  “ Over  hill 
and  dale,”  says  a member  of  the  Presidential  party, 
“ dashed  the  brilliant  cavalcade  of  the  General-in-Chief, 
surrounded  by  a company  of  officers  in  gay  attire  and 
sparkling  with  gold  lace,  the  party  being  escorted  by 
the  Philadelphia  Lancers,  a showy  troop  of  soldiers. 
In  the  midst,  or  at  the  head,  rose  and  fell,  as  the 
horses  galloped  afar,  the  form  of  Lincoln,  conspicu- 
ous by  his  height  and  his  tall  black  hat.  And  ever  on 
the  flanks  of  the  hurrying  column  flew,  like  a flag  or 
banneret,  Tad’s  little  gray  riding-cloak.  The  soldiers 
soon  learned  of  Tad’s  presence  in  the  army,  and  wher- 


466  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


ever  he  went  on  horseback  he  easily  divided  the  honors 
with  his  father.  The  men  cheered  and  shouted  and 
waved  their  hats  when  they  saw  the  dear  face  and  tall 
figure  of  the  good  President,  then  the  best-beloved  man 
in  the  world ; but  to  these  men  of  war,  far  away  from 
home  and  children,  the  sight  of  that  fresh-faced  and 
laughing  boy  seemed  an  inspiration.  They  cheered 
like  mad.” 

There  were  various  phases  of  Lincoln’s  character,  as 
manifested  during  his  life  in  the  White  House,  that 
afford  material  for  an  interesting  study.  It  has  been 
said  of  him  that  he  lacked  imagination.  This  was  cer- 
tainly not  one  of  the  faculties  of  his  mind  which  had 
been  largely  cultivated.  He  relied  more  upon  the  exer- 
cise of  reason  and  logic,  in  all  his  intellectual  processes, 
than  upon  fancy  or  imagination.  Still,  there  are  often 
striking  figures  of  speech  to  be  met  with  in  his  writings, 
and  he  had  a great  fondness  for  poetry  and  music.  He 
had  studied  Shakespeare  diligently  in  his  youth,  and 
portions  of  the  plays  he  repeated  with  singular  ac- 
curacy. He  had  a special  liking  for  the  minor  poems 
of  Thomas  Hood  and  of  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes.  Dr. 
Holmes,  writing  in  July,  1885,  says  that  of  all  the 
tributes  received  by  him,  the  one  of  which  he  was  most 
proud  was  from  “ good  Abraham  Lincoln,”  who  had 
a great  liking  for  the  poem  of  “ The  Last  Leaf,”  and 
“ repeated  it  from  memory  to  Governor  Andrew,  as  the 
Governor  himself  told  me.”  Mr.  Arnold  says:  “He 
had  a great  love  for  poetry  and  eloquence,  and  his 
taste  and  judgment  were  excellent.  Next  to  Shake- 
speare among  the  poets,  his  favorite  was  Burns.  There 
was  a lecture  of  his  upon  Burns  full  of  favorite  quo- 
tations and  sound  criticisms.”  His  musical  tastes,  says 
Mr.  Brooks,  who  knew  him  well,  “ were  simple  and  un- 
cultivated, his  choice  being  old  airs,  songs,  and  ballads, 
among  which  the  plaintive  Scotch  songs  were  best 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  467 


liked.  ‘ Annie  Laurie,’  ‘ Mary  of  Argyle,’  and  espe- 
cially ‘ Auld  Robin  Gra}7,’  never  lost  their  charm  for 
him ; and  all  songs  which  had  for  their  theme  the 
rapid  flight  of  time,  decay,  the  recollections  of  early 
days,  were  sure  to  make  a deep  impression.  The  song 
which  he  liked  best,  above  all  others,  was  one  called 
‘ Twenty  Years  Ago  ’ — a simple  air,  the  words  to 
which  are  supposed  to  be  uttered  by  a man  who  re- 
visits the  playground  of  his  youth.  I remember  that 
one  night  at  the  White  House,  when  a few  ladies  were 
with  the  family,  singing  at  the  piano-forte,  he  asked  for 
a little  song  in  which  the  writer  describes  his  sensations 
when  revisiting  the  scenes  of  his  boyhood,  dwelling 
mournfully  on  the  vanished  joys  and  the  delightful 
associations  of  forty  years  ago.  It  is  not  likely  that 
there  was  much  in  Lincoln’s  lost  youth  that  he  would 
wish  to  recall ; but  there  was  a cei'tain  melancholy  and 
half-morbid  strain  in  that  song  which  struck  a respon- 
sive chord  in  his  heart.  The  lines  sank  into  his  memory, 
and  I remember  that  he  quoted  them,  as  if  to  himself, 
long  afterward.” 

Lincoln’s  memory  was  extraordinarily  retentive,  and 
he  seemed,  without  conscious  effort,  to  have  stored  in 
his  mind  almost  every  whimsical  or  ludicrous  narrative 
which  he  had  read  or  heard.  “ On  several  occasions,” 
says  Mr.  Brooks,  “ I have  held  in  my  hand  a printed 
slip  while  he  was  repeating  its  contents  to  somebody 
else,  and  the  precision  with  which  he  delivered  every 
word  was  marvellous.”  He  was  fond  of  the  writings 
of  “ Orpheus  C.  Kerr  ” and  “ Petroleum  V.  Nasby,” 
who  were  famous  humorists  at  the  time  of  the  Civil 
War;  and  he  amused  himself  and  others  in  the  darkest 
hours  by  quoting  passages  from  these  now  forgotten 
authors.  Nasby’s  letter  from  “ Wingert’s  Corners, 
Ohio,”  on  the  threatening  prospects  of  a migration  of 
the  negroes  from  the  South,  and  the  President’s  “ evi- 


468  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


dent  intenshun  of  colonizin’  on  ’em  in  the  North,”  he 
especially  relished.  After  rehearsing  a portion  of  this 
letter  to  his  guests  at  the  Soldiers’  Home  one  evening, 
a sedate  New  England  gentleman  expressed  surprise 
that  he  could  find  time  for  memorizing  such  things. 
“ Oh,”  said  Lincoln,  “ I don’t.  If  I like  a thing,  it 
just  sticks  after  once  reading  it  or  hearing  it.”  He 
once  recited  a long  and  doleful  ballad,  something  like 
“ Viiikins  and  his  Dinah,”  the  production  of  a rural 
Kentucky  bard,  and  when  he  had  finished  he  added  with 
a laugh,  “ I don’t  believe  I have  thought  of  that  before 
for  forty  years.”  Mr.  Arnold  testifies  that  “ although 
his  reading  was  not  extensive,  yet  his  memory  was  so 
retentive  and  so  ready  that  in  history,  poetry,  and  in 
general  literature,  few  if  any  marked  any  deficiency. 
As  an  illustration  of  the  powers  of  his  memory,  may  be 
related  the  following:  A gentleman  called  at  the  White 
House  one  day,  and  introduced  to  him  two  officers 
serving  in  the  army,  one  a Swede  and  the  other  a 
Norwegian.  Immediately  he  repeated,  to  their  delight, 
a poem  of  some  eight  or  ten  verses  descriptive  of  Scan- 
dinavian scenery,  and  an  old  Norse  legend.  He  said 
he  had  read  the  poem  in  a newspaper  some  years  be- 
fore, and  liked  it,  but  it  had  passed  out  of  his  memory 
until  their  visit  had  recalled  it.  The  two  books  which 
he  read  most  were  the  Bible  and  Shakespeare.  With 
these  he  was  perfectly  familiar.  From  the  Bible,  as 
has  before  been  stated,  he  quoted  frequently,  and  he 
read  it  daily,  while  Shakespeare  was  his  constant  com- 
panion. He  took  a copy  with  him  almost  always  when 
travelling,  and  read  it  at  leisure  moments.” 

Lincoln  was  never  ashamed  to  confess  the  deficiencies 
in  his  early  education.  A distinguished  party,  com- 
prising George  Thompson,  the  English  anti-slavery 
orator,  Rev.  John  Pierpont,  Oliver  Johnson,  and 
Hon.  Lewis  Clephane,  once  called  upon  him,  and  during 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  469 


the  conversation  Mr.  Pierpont  turned  to  Mr.  Thompson 
and  repeated  a Latin  quotation  from  the  classics.  Mr. 
Lincoln,  leaning  forward  in  his  chair,  looked  from  one 
to  the  other  inquiringly,  and  then  remarked,  with  a 
smile,  “ Which,  I suppose  you  are  both  aware,  I do 
not  understand.” 

While  Edwin  Forrest  was  playing  an  engagement  at 
Ford’s  Theatre,  Mr.  Carpenter  spoke  to  the  President 
one  day  of  the  actor’s  fine  interpretation  of  the  char- 
acter of  Richelieu,  and  advised  him  to  witness  the 
performance.  “ Who  wrote  the  play?  ” asked  the 
President  of  Mr.  Carpenter.  “ Bulwer,”  was  the  reply. 
“ Ah!  ” he  rejoined;  “ well,  I knew  Bulwer  wrote  novels, 
but  I did  not  know  he  was  a play-writer  also.  It  may 
seem  somewhat  strange  to  say,”  he  continued,  “ but 
I never  read  an  entire  novel  in  my  life.  I once  com- 
menced ‘ Ivanhoe,’  but  never  finished  it.” 

Among  the  few  diversions  which  Lincoln  allowed 
himself  in  Washington  was  an  occasional  visit  to  the 
theater  to  witness  a representation  of  some  good  play 
by  a favorite  actor.  He  felt  the  necessity  of  some 
relaxation  from  the  terrible  strain  of  anxiety  and  care ; 
and  while  seated  behind  the  screen  in  a box  at  the 
theatre  he  was  secure  from  the  everlasting  impor- 
tunities of  politicians  and  office-seekers.  He  could  for- 
get himself  and  his  problems  while  watching  the 
scenes  on  the  mimic  stage  before  him.  He  enjoyed 
the  renditions  of  Booth  with  great  zest ; yet  after 
witnessing  “ The  Merchant  of  Venice  ” he  remarked 
on  the  way  home : “ It  was  a good  performance, 

but  I had  a thousand  times  rather  read  it  at  home, 
if  it  were  not  for  Booth’s  playing.  A farce  or 
a comedy  is  best  played;  a tragedy  is  best  read 
at  home.”  He  was  much  pleased  one  night  with  Mr. 
McCullough’s  delineation  of  the  character  of  “ Edgar,” 
which  the  actor  played  in  support  of  Edwin  Forrest’s 


470  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


“ Lear.”  He  wished  to  convey  his  approval  to  the 
young  actor,  and  asked  Mr.  Brooks,  his  companion  at 
the  moment,  with  characteristic  simplicity,  “ Do  you 
suppose  he  would  come  to  the  box  if  we  sent  word?  ” 
Mr.  McCullough  was  summoned,  and,  standing  at  the 
door  of  the  box  in  his  stage  attire,  received  the  thanks 
of  the  President,  accompanied  with  words  of  discrimi- 
nating praise  for  the  excellence  of  his  delineation. 

With  his  keen  sense  of  humor,  Lincoln  appreciated 
to  the  utmost  the  inimitable  presentation  of  “ Falstaff  ” 
by  a well-known  actor  of  the  time.  His  desire  to  ac- 
cord praise  wherever  it  was  merited  led  him  to  express 
his  admiration  in  a note  to  the  actor.  An  interchange 
of  slight  civilities  followed,  ending  at  last  in  a singular 
situation.  Entering  the  President’s  office  late  one  even- 
ing, Mr.  Brooks  noticed  the  actor  sitting  in  the  wait- 
ing-room. Lincoln  inquired  anxiously  if  there  were 
anyone  outside.  On  being  told,  he  said,  half  sadly, 
almost  desperately,  “ Oh,  I can’t  see  him ; I can’t  see 
him ! I was  in  hopes  he  had  gone  away.”  Then  he 
added,  “ Now,  this  illustrates  the  difficulty  of  having 
pleasant  friends  in  this  place.  You  know  I liked  him 
as  an  actor,  and  that  I wrote  to  tell  him  so.  He  sent 
me  a book,  and  there  I thought  the  matter  would  end. 
He  is  a master  of  his  place  in  the  profession,  I sup- 
pose, and  well  fixed  in  it.  But  just  because  we  had 
a little  friendly  correspondence,  such  as  any  two  men 
might  have,  he  wants  something.  What  do  you  sup- 
pose he  wants?  ” I could  not  guess,  and  Lincoln  added, 
“ Well,  he  wants  to  be  consul  at  London.  Oh,  dear!  ” 

Lincoln  was  not  a ready  writer,  and  when  preparing 
documents  or  speeches  of  special  importance  he  altered 
and  elaborated  his  sentences  with  patient  care.  His 
public  utterances  were  so  widely  reported  and  so  merci- 
lessly discussed  that  he  acquired  caution  in  expressing 
himself  without  due  preparation.  It  is  stated,  on  what 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  471 


seems  sufficient  authority,  that  his  Gettysburg  speech, 
brief  and  simple  as  it  is,  was  rewritten  many  times 
before  it  finally  met  his  approval.  He  began  also  to 
be  guarded  in  responding  to  demands  for  impromptu 
speeches,  which  were  constantly  being  called  for.  Mr. 
Brooks  relates  that  “ once,  being  notified  that  he  was 
to  be  serenaded,  just  after  some  notable  military  or 
political  event,  he  asked  me  to  come  to  dinner,  ‘ so  as 
to  be  on  hand  and  see  the  fun  afterward,’  as  he  said. 
He  excused  himself  as  soon  as  we  had  dined,  and  while 
the  bands  were  playing,  the  crowds  cheering  and  the 
rockets  bursting  outside  the  house,  he  made  his  re- 
appearance in  the  parlor  with  a roll  of  manuscript  in 
his  hand.  Perhaps  noticing  a look  of  surprise  on  my 
face,  he  said,  ‘ I know  what  you  are  thinking  about. 
You  think  it  mighty  queer  that  an  old  stump-speaker 
like  myself  should  not  be  able  to  address  a crowd  like 
this  outside  without  a written  speech.  But  you  must 
remember  that  in  a certain  way  I am  talking  to  the 
country,  and  I have  to  be  mighty  careful.  Now,  the 
last  time  I made  an  off-hand  speech,  in  answer  to  a 
serenade,  I used  the  phrase,  as  applied  to  the  rebels, 
“ turned  tail  and  ran.”  Some  very  nice  Boston  folks,  I 
am  grieved  to  hear,  were  very  much  outraged  by  that 
phrase,  which  they  thought  improper.  So  I resolved  to 
make  no  more  impromptu  speeches  if  I could  help  it.’  ” 
In  all  Lincoln’s  writings,  even  his  most  important 
state  papers,  his  chief  desire  was  to  make  himself 
clearly  understood  by  the  common  reader.  He  had  a 
great  aversion  to  what  he  called  “ machine  writing,” 
and  used  the  fewest  words  possible  to  express  his  mean- 
ing. He  never  hesitated  to  employ  a homely  expression 
when  it  suited  his  purpose.  In  his  first  message  the 
phrase  “ sugar-coated  ” occurred ; and  when  it  was 
printed,  Mr.  Defrees,  the  Public  Printer,  being  on 
familiar  terms  with  the  President,  ventured  an  ob- 


472  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


jection  to  the  phrase  — suggesting  that  Lincoln  was 
not  now  preparing  a campaign  document  or  delivering 
a stump  speech  in  Illinois,  but  constructing  an  impor- 
tant state  paper  that  would  go  down  historically  to  all 
coming  time;  and  that  therefore  he  did  not  consider 
the  phrase  “ sugar-coated  ” as  entirely  a becoming  and 
dignified  one.  “ Well,  Defrees,”  replied  Lincoln,  good- 
naturedly,  “ if  you  think  the  time  will  ever  come 
when  the  people  will  not  understand  what  ‘ sugar- 
coated  ’ means,  I ’ll  alter  it ; otherwise,  I think  I ’ll 
let  it  go.” 

On  the  same  subject,  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe 
says : “ Our  own  politicians  were  somewhat  shocked 
with  his  state  papers  at  first.  ‘ Why  not  let  us  make 
them  a little  more  conventional,  and  file  them  to  a 
classical  pattern?  ’ ‘No,’  was  his  reply,  ‘ I shall  write 
them  myself.  The  people  will  understand  them .’  ‘ But 
this  or  that  form  of  expression  is  not  elegant,  not 
classical.’  * The  people  will  understand  it,’  has  been 
his  invariable  reply.  And  whatever  may  be  said  of  his 
state  papers  as  compared  with  the  classic  standards, 
it  has  been  a fact  that  they  have  always  been  won- 
derfully well  understood  by  the  people,  and  that  since 
the  time  of  Washington  the  state  papers  of  no  Presi- 
dent have  more  controlled  the  popular  mind.  One  rea- 
son for  this  is  that  they  have  been  informal  and  undiplo- 
matic. They  have  more  resembled  a father’s  talk  to 
his  children  than  a state  paper.  They  have  had  that 
relish  and  smack  of  the  soil  that  appeal  to  the  simple 
human  heart  and  head,  which  is  a greater  power  in 
writing  than  the  most  artful  devices  of  rhetoric.  Lin- 
coln might  well  say  with  the  apostle,  ‘ But  though  I be 
rude  in  speech,  yet  not  in  knowledge,  but  we  have  been 
thoroughly  made  manifest  among  you  in  all  things.’ 
His  rejection  of  what  is  called  ‘fine  writing’  was  as 
deliberate  as  St.  Paul’s,  and  for  the  same  reason  — 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  473 


because  he  felt  that  he  was  speaking  on  a subject 
which  must  be  made  clear  to  the  lowest  intellect,  though 
it  should  fail  to  captivate  the  highest.  But  we  say  of 
Lincoln’s  writing,  that  for  all  true  manly  purposes 
there  are  passages  in  his  state  papers  that  could  not 
be  better  put;  they  are  absolutely  perfect.  They  are 
brief,  condensed,  intense,  and  with  a power  of  insight 
and  expression  which  make  them  worthy  to  be  inscribed 
in  letters  of  gold.” 

Hon.  William  J.  Bryan,  certainly  a competent  judge 
of  oratory,  says  of  Lincoln  as  an  orator:  “Brevity 
is  the  soul  of  wit,  and  a part  of  Lincoln’s  reputation 
for  wit  lies  in  his  ability  to  condense  a great  deal  into 
a few  words.  He  was  epigrammatic.  His  Gettysburg 
speech  is  the  world’s  model  in  eloquence,  elegance,  and 
condensation.  He  was  apt  in  illustration  — no  one 
more  so.  A simple  story  or  simile  drawn  from  every- 
day life  flashed  before  his  hearers  the  argument  that 
he  wanted  to  present.  He  made  frequent  use  of  p 
Bible  language,  and  of  illustrations  drawn  from 
Holy  Writ.  It  is  said  that  when  he  was  preparing 
his  Springfield  speech  of  1858  he  spent  hours  in 
trying  to  find  language  that  would  express  the 
central  idea  — that  a republic  could  not  permanently 
endure  part  free  and  part  slave.  Finally  a Bible 
passage  flashed  through  his  mind,  and  he  exclaimed, 

‘I  have  found  it  — a house  divided  against  itself 
cannot  stand.'  Probably  no  other  Bible  passage  ever 
exerted  as  much  influence  as  this  one  in  the  settlement 
of  a great  controversy.” 

Lincoln  was  a tireless  worker,  and  delegated  no 
duties  to  others  which  he  could  perform  himself.  His 
health  seemed  to  bear  the  strain  of  his  terrible  bur- 
dens wonderfully  well.  There  are  but  few  references 
anywhere  to  his  being  incapacitated  by  illness.  One 
such  reference  occurs  in  Welles’s  Diary,  dated  March 


474  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


14,  1865:  “The  President  was  somewhat  indisposed, 
but  not  seriously  ill.  The  members  [of  the  Cabinet] 
met  in  his  bedroom.”  His  correspondence  was  exten- 
sive and  burdensome,  and  as  a rule  he  wrote  his  most 
important  letters  with  his  own  hand,  frequently  going 
to  the  trouble  of  taking  copies,  which  were  filed  with 
careful  order  in  a cabinet,  the  interior  of  which  was 
divided  into  pigeon-holes.  These  pigeon-holes,  as  Mr. 
Brooks  tells  us,  “ were  lettered  in  alphabetical  order, 
but  a few  were  devoted  to  individuals.  Horace  Greeley 
had  a pigeon-hole  by  himself ; so  did  each  of  several 
generals  who  wrote  often  to  him.  One  compartment, 
labelled  ‘ W.  & W.,’  excited  much  curiosity,  but  I 
never  asked  what  it  meant,  and  one  night,  being  sent  to 
the  cabinet  for  a letter  which  the  President  wanted, 
he  said,  ‘ I see  you  looking  at  my  “ W.  & W.”  Can 
you  guess  what  that  stands  for?  ’ Of  course  it  was 
useless  to  guess.  ‘ Well,’  said  he,  with  a roguish  twin- 
kle of  the  eye,  ‘that’s  Weed  and  Wood- — • Thurlow 
and  Fernandy.’  Then  he  added,  with  an  indescribable 
chuckle,  ‘ That ’s  a pair  of  ’em.’  When  asked  why  he 
did  not  have  a letter -book  and  copying-press,  he  said, 
‘ A letter-book  might  be  easily  stolen  and  carried  off, 
but  that  stock  of  filed  letters  would  be  a bach-load .’  ” 

A lady  who  once  rode  with  Lincoln,  in  the  Presi- 
dential carriage,  to  the  Soldiers’  Home,  gives  some 
interesting  details  concerning  his  knowledge  of  wood- 
craft. “ Around  the  ‘ Home,’  ” says  this  lady,  “ grows 
every  variety  of  tree,  particularly  of  the  evergreen 
class.  Their  branches  brushed  into  the  carriage  as  we 
passed  along,  and  left  with  us  that  pleasant  woodsy 
smell  belonging  to  fresh  leaves.  One  of  the  ladies, 
catching  a bit  of  green  from  one  of  these  intruding 
branches,  said  it  was  cedar,  and  another  thought  it 
spruce.  ‘ Let  me  discourse  on  a theme  I understand,’ 
said  the  President.  ‘ I know  all  about  trees,  by  right  of 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  475 


being  a backwoodsman.  I ’ll  show  you  the  difference 
between  spruce,  pine,  and  cedar,  and  this  shred  of  green, 
which  is  neither  one  nor  the  other,  but  a kind  of  illegiti- 
mate cypress.’  He  then  proceeded  to  gather  specimens 
of  each,  and  explain  the  distinctive  formation  of  foliage 
belonging  to  every  species.  ‘ Trees,’  he  said,  ‘ are  as 
deceptive  in  their  likeness  to  one  another  as  are  cer- 
tain classes  of  men,  amongst  whom  none  but  a physiog- 
nomist’s eye  can  detect  dissimilar  moral  features  until 
events  have  developed  them.  Do  you  know  it  would  be 
a good  thing  if  in  all  the  schools  proposed  and  carried 
out  by  the  improvement  of  modern  thinkers,  we  could 
have  a school  of  events?  ’ ‘A  school  of  events?’  re- 
peated the  lady  addressed.  ‘ Yes,’  he  continued,  ‘ since 
it  is  only  by  that  active  development  that  character 
and  ability  can  be  tested.  Understand  me,  I now  mean 
men,  not  trees ; they  can  be  tried,  and  an  analysis  of 
their  strength  obtained  less  expensive  to  life  and  hu- 
man interests  than  man’s.  What  I say  now  is  a mere 
whim,  you  know;  but  when  I speak  of  a school  of 
events,  I mean  one  in  which,  before  entering  real  life, 
students  might  pass  through  the  mimic  vicissitudes  and 
situations  that  are  necessary  to  bring  out  their  powers 
and  mark  the  calibre  to  which  they  are  assigned.  Thus, 
one  could  select  from  the  graduates  an  invincible  sol- 
dier, equal  to  any  position,  with  no  such  word  as  fail; 
a martyr  to  right,  ready  to  give  up  life  in  the  cause ; 
a politician  too  cunning  to  be  outwitted;  and  so  on. 
These  things  have  all  to  be  tried,  and  their  sometime 
failure  creates  confusion  as  well  as  disappointment. 
There  is  no  more  dangerous  or  expensive  analysis  than 
that  which  consists  of  trying  a man .’  ” 

Among  Lincoln’s  callers  one  Sunday  evening,  was 
the  distinguished  scientist  Louis  Agassiz.  The  two 
men  were  somewhat  alike  in  their  simple,  shy,  and 
unpretending  nature,  and  at  first  felt  their  way  with 


476  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


each  other  like  two  bashful  schoolboys.  Lincoln  be- 
gan conversation  by  saying  to  Agassiz,  “ I never  knew 
how  to  pronounce  your  name  properly ; won’t  you  give 
me  a little  lesson  at  that,  please?  ” Then  he  asked 
if  the  name  were  of  French  or  Swiss  derivation,  to 
which  the  Professor  replied  that  it  was  partly  of  each. 
That  led  to  a discussion  of  different  languages,  the 
President  speaking  several  words  in  different  languages 
which  had  the  same  root  as  similar  words  in  our  own 
tongue ; then  he  illustrated  that  by  one  or  two  anec- 
dotes. But  he  soon  returned  to  his  gentle  cross-exami- 
nation of  Agassiz,  and  found  out  how  the  Professor 
studied,  how  he  composed,  and  how  he  delivered  his  lec- 
tures ; how  he  found  different  tastes  in  his  audiences  in 
different  portions  of  the  country.  When  afterwards 
asked  why  he  put  such  questions  to  his  learned  visitor, 
he  said,  “ Why,  what  we  got  from  him  is  n’t  printed 
in  the  books ; the  other  things  are.”  But  Lincoln  did 
not  do  all  the  questioning.  In  his  turn,  Agassiz  asked 
Lincoln  if  he  had  ever  engaged  in  lecturing.  Lincoln 
gave  the  outline  of  a lecture,  which  he  had  partly  writ- 
ten years  before,  to  show  the  origin  of  inventions  and 
prove  that  there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun.  “ I 
think  I can  show,”  said  he,  “ at  least,  in  a fanciful  way, 
that  all  the  modern  inventions  were  known  centuries 
ago.”  Agassiz  begged  that  Lincoln  would  finish  the 
lecture  sometime.  Lincoln  replied  that  he  had  the 
manuscript  somewhere  in  his  papers,  “ and,”  said  he, 
“ when  I get  out  of  this  place,  I ’ll  finish  it  up,  perhaps.” 

So  great  was  Lincoln’s  magnanimity,  and  so  keen  his 
sense  of  justice,  that  he  never  allowed  personal  con- 
siderations to  influence  his  official  acts.  It  is  probably 
true  that  it  was  easy  for  him  to  forgive  an  injury; 
but  he  was  incapable  of  using  his  position  as  President 
to  gratify  his  private  resentments.  It  was  once  repre- 
sented to  him  that  a recent  appointee  to  an  important 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  477 


office  had  been  bitterly  opposed  to  him  politically.  “ I 
suppose,”  said  he,  “ the  Judge  did  behave  pretty  ugly ; 
but  that  would  n’t  make  him  any  less  fit  for  this  place, 
and  I have  a Scriptural  authority  for  appointing 
him.  You  recollect  that  while  the  Lord  on  Mount 
Sinai  was  getting  out  a commission  for  Aaron,  that 
same  Aaron  was  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  making 
a false  god,  a golden  calf,  for  the  people  to  worship ; 
yet  Aaron  got  his  commission,  you  know.”  At  another 
time,  when  remonstrated  with  upon  the  appointment 
to  place  of  one  of  his  former  opponents,  he  said:  “ No- 
body will  deny  that  he  is  a first-rate  man  for  the  place, 
and  I am  bound  to  see  that  his  opposition  to  me  per- 
sonally shall  not  interfere  with  my  giving  the  people 
a good  officer.”  And  on  another  similar  occasion,  when 
remonstrated  with  by  members  of  his  Cabinet,  he  said : 
“ Oh,  I can’t  afford  to  punish  every  person  who  has 
seen  fit  to  oppose  my  election.  We  want  a competent 
man  in  this  office,  and  I know  of  no  one  who  could  per- 
form the  duties  better  than  the  one  proposed.” 

With  all  his  self-abnegation,  Lincoln  could  be  stern 
when  the  occasion  warranted  it.  As  an  illustration  the 
following  incident  is  related:  An  officer  who  had  been 
cashiered  from  the  service,  forced  himself  several  times 
into  Lincoln’s  presence,  to  plead  for  a reversal  of  his 
sentence.  Each  time  he  read  a long  argument  attempt- 
ing to  prove  that  he  had  received  unjust  treatment. 
The  President  listened  to  him  patiently;  but  the  facts, 
on  their  most  favorable  showing,  did  not  seem  to  him 
to  sanction  his  interference.  In  the  last  interview,  the 
man  became  angry,  and  turning  abruptly  said:  “ Well, 
Mr.  President,  I see  you  are  determined  not  to  do  me 
justice!”  This  was  too  much,  even  for  the  long- 
suffering  Lincoln.  Manifesting,  however,  no  more  feel- 
ing than  that  indicated  by  a slight  compression  of  the 
lips,  he  quietly  arose,  laid  down  a package  of  papers 


478  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


he  held  in  his  hands,  and  then,  suddenly  seizing  the  dis- 
graced officer  by  the  coat  collar,  he  marched  him  forci- 
bly to  the  door,  saying,  as  he  ejected  him  into  the 
passage,  “ Sir,  I give  you  fair  warning  never  to  show 
yourself  in  this  room  again.  I can  bear  censure,  but 
not  insult ! ” In  a whining  tone  the  man  begged  for 
his  papers,  which  he  had  dropped.  “ Begone,  sir,”  said 
the  President,  “ your  papers  will  be  sent  to  you.  I 
wish  never  to  see  your  face  again ! ” 

Much  has  been  said  about  Lincoln’s  views  on  re- 
ligion. Like  many  other  great  men,  he  was  not  what 
might  technically  be  called  a Christian.  He  was  a re- 
ligious man  in  spirit  and  by  nature;  yet  he  never 
joined  a church.  Mrs.  Lincoln  says  that  he  had  no 
religious  faith,  in  the  usual  acceptation  of  the  word, 
but  that  religion  was  a sort  of  poetry  in  his  nature. 
“ Twice  during  his  life,”  she  said,  “ he  seemed  especially 
to  think  about  it.  Once  was  when  our  boy  Willie  died. 
Once  — and  this  time  he  thought  of  it  more  deeply  — 
was  when  he  went  to  Gettysburg.”  But  whatever  his 
inner  thoughts  may  have  been,  no  man  on  earth  had  a 
firmer  faith  in  Providence  than  Abraham  Lincoln.  Per- 
haps he  did  not  himself  know  just  where  he  stood.  He 
believed  in  God  — in  immortality.  He  did  not  believe 
in  eternal  punishment,  but  was  confident  of  rest  and 
peace  after  this  life  was  over.  He  may  not  have  felt 
certain  of  the  divine  origin  of  all  parts  of  the  Bible, 
but  he  valued  its  precepts,  and  his  whole  life  gave  evi- 
dence of  faith  in  a higher  power  than  that  of  man. 
Mr.  Nicolay,  his  secretary,  testifies  that  “ his  nature 
was  deeply  religious,  but  he  belonged  to  no  denomina- 
tion; he  had  faith  in  the  eternal  justice  and  boundless 
mercy  of  Providence,  and  made  the  Golden  Rule  of 
Christ  his  practical  creed.”  And  Dr.  Phillips  Brooks, 
in  an  eloquent  and  expressive  passage,  calls  him  “ Shep- 
herd of  the  people  — that  old  name  that  the  best  rulers 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  479 


ever  craved.  What  ruler  ever  won  it  like  this  President 
of  ours?  He  fed  us  faithfully  and  truly.  He  fed  us 
with  counsel  when  we  were  in  doubt,  with  inspiration 
when  we  sometimes  faltered,  with  caution  when  we  would 
be  rash,  with  calm,  clear,  trustful  cheerfulness  through 
many  an  hour  when  our  hearts  were  dark.  He  fed  hun- 
gry souls  all  over  the  country  with  sympathy  and  con- 
solation. He  spread  before  the  whole  land  feasts  of 
great  duty  and  devotion  and  patriotism  on  which  the 
land  grew  strong.  He  fed  us  with  solemn,  solid  truths. 
He  taught  us  the  sacredness  of  government,  the  wicked- 
ness of  treason.  He  made  our  souls  glad  and  vigorous 
with  the  love  of  Liberty  that  was  in  his.  He  showed 
us  how  to  love  truth,  and  yet  be  charitable;  how  to 
hate  wrong  and  all  oppression,  and  yet  not  treasure 
one  personal  injury  or  insult.  He  fed  all  his  people, 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  from  the  most  privileged 
down  to  the  most  enslaved.  ‘ He  fed  them  with  a faith- 
ful and  true  heart.’  ” 


CHAPTER  XXIV] 


Trials  of  the  Administration  in  1863  — Hostility  to  War  Measures  — 
Lack  of  Confidence  at  the  North  — Opposition  in  Congress  — How 
Lincoln  felt  about  the  “Fire  in  the  Rear”  — Criticisms  from  Vari- 
ous Quarters  — Visit  of  “the  Boston  Set”  — The  Government  on 
a Tight-rope  — The  Enlistment  of  Colored  Troops  — Interview 
between  Lincoln  and  Frederick  Douglass  — Reverses  in  the  Field 
— Changes  of  Military  Leaders  — From  Burnside  to  Hooker  — 
Lincoln’s  First  Meeting  with  “Fighting  Joe” — The  President’s 
Solicitude  — His  Warning  Letter  to  Hooker  — His  Visit  to  the 
Rappahannock  — Hooker’s  Self-confidence  the  “Worst  Thing 
about  Him”  — The  Defeat  at  Chancellorsville  — The  Failure  of 
our  Generals  — “Wanted,  a Man.” 

IT  is  impossible,  without  a close  study  of  the  inner 
history  of  the  war  and  of  the  acts  of  the  adminis- 
tration, to  conceive  of  the  harassing  and  baffling  diffi- 
culties which  beset  President  Lincoln’s  course  in  every 
direction,  and  of  the  jealous,  narrow,  and  bitter  oppo- 
sition which  his  more  important  measures  provoked. 
As  the  struggle  advanced  he  found  in  his  front  a solid 
and  defiant  South,  behind  him  a divided  and  distrustful 
North.  What  might  be  called  the  party  of  action  and 
of  extreme  measures  developed  a sharp  hostility  to  the 
President.  He  would  not  go  fast  enough  to  suit  them; 
they  thought  him  disposed  to  compromise.  They  began 
by  criticizing  his  policy,  and  his  methods  of  prosecuting 
the  war ; from  this  they  passed  rapidly  to  a criticism 
of  the  President  himself.  In  the  affectionate  admira- 
tion felt  for  him  now,  people  have  forgotten  how  weak 
and  poor  and  craven  they  found  him  then.  So  far 
had  this  disapproval  and  hostility  gone,  that  early  in 
1863  we  find  Mr.  Greeley  searching  everywhere  for  a 
fitting  successor  to  Lincoln  for  the  Presidency  at  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  481 


next  term.  There  were  but  few  men  in  high  official 
station  in  Washington  who  at  that  time  unqualifiedly 
sustained  him.  In  the  House  of  Representatives  there 
were  but  two  members  who  could  make  themselves 
heard,  who  stood  actively  by  him.  This  matter,  long 
since  forgotten,  must  be  recalled  to  show  clearly  the 
President’s  straits,  and  his  action  and  bearing  amidst 
his  difficulties.  It  should  be  remembered  that  party 
lines,  which  disappeared  at  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
were  again  clearly  drawn;  and  the  Democratic  wing 
of  Congress,  under  the  leadership  of  Vallandigham  of 
Ohio,  actively  opposed  many  of  the  necessary  measures 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  The  cry  had  already 
been  raised  in  Congress,  “ The  South  cannot  be  subju- 
gated ” ; and  every  fresh  disaster  to  the  national  arms 
was  hailed  as  proof  of  the  assertion. 

The  effect  of  this  abuse  and  opposition  was  exceed- 
ingly painful  to  Lincoln.  He  said : “ I have  been 
caused  more  anxiety,  I have  passed  more  sleepless 
nights,  on  account  of  the  temper  and  attitude  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  the  North  regarding  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  rebellion  than  by  the  rebels  in  the  South.  I 
have  always  had  faith  that  our  armies  would  ultimately 
and  completely  triumph;  but  these  enemies  in  the 
North  cause  me  a great  deal  of  anxiety  and  appre- 
hension. Can  it  be  that  there  are  opposing  opinions 
in  the  North  as  to  the  necessity  of  putting  down  this 
rebellion?  How  can  men  hesitate  a moment  as  to  the 
duty  of  the  Government  to  restore  its  authority  in 
every  part  of  the  country?  It  is  incomprehensible  to 
me  that  men  living  in  their  quiet  homes  under  the  pro- 
tection of  laws,  in  possession  of  their  property,  can 
sympathize  with  and  give  aid  and  comfort  to  those 
who  are  doing  their  utmost  to  overthrow  that  Govern- 
ment which  makes  life  and  everything  they  possess 
valuable.” 


482  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


In  January,  1863,  a party  of  distinguished  gentle- 
men from  Boston  visited  the  national  capital,  in  order 
to  confer  with  the  President  on  the  workings  of  the 
emancipation  policy.  They  made  the  visit  chiefly  at 
the  suggestion  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  who  during 
all  the  trying  years  of  the  war  never  lost  faith  in  Lin- 
coln’s honesty  and  sense  of  justice.  Secretary  Stanton 
made  no  secret  of  his  opposition  to  these  gentlemen,  who 
were  spoken  of  rather  slightingly  as  “ that  Boston  set.” 
The  “ Boston  set  ” were  uncompromising  abolitionists, 
and  nothing  would  satisfy  them  but  immediate  and 
aggressive  measures  for  enforcing  the  policy  of  emanci- 
pation. As  it  was  the  President’s  instinct  to  feel  his 
way  slowly  in  pushing  on  the  great  measures  necessary 
to  the  safe  guidance  of  the  nation  in  its  perilous  crisis, 
they  were  naturally  dissatisfied  with  his  conservative 
methods  and  tendencies.  The  visitors  — including 
Senator  Wilson,  Wendell  Phillips,  Francis  W.  Bird, 
Elizur  Wright,  J.  H.  Stephenson,  George  L.  Stearns, 
Oakes  Ames,  and  Moncure  D.  Conway  — called  on  the 
President  one  Sunday  evening,  at  the  White  House. 
“ The  President  met  us,”  says  Mr.  Conway,  “ laugh- 
ing like  a boy,  saying  that  in  the  morning  one  of  his 
children  had  come  to  inform  him  that  the  cat  had 
kittens,  and  now  another  had  just  announced  that  the 
dog  had  puppies,  and  the  White  House  was  in  a de- 
cidedly sensational  state.  Some  of  our  party  looked 
a little  glum  at  this  hilarity;  but  it  was  pathetic  to 
see  the  change  in  the  President’s  face  when  he  presently 
resumed  his  burden  of  care.  We  were  introduced  by 
Senator  Wilson,  who  began  to  speak  of  us  severally, 
when  Mr.  Lincoln  said  he  knew  perfectly  who  we  were, 
and  requested  us  to  be  seated.  Nothing  could  be  more 
gracious  than  his  manner,  or  more  simple.  The  con- 
versation was  introduced  by  Wendell  Phillips,  who, 
with  all  his  courtesy,  expressed  our  gratitude  and  joy 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  483 


at  the  Proclamation  of  Emancipation,  and  asked  how 
it  seemed  to  be  working-.  The  President  said  that  he 
had  not  expected  much  from  it  at  first,  and  conse- 
quent^' had  not  been  disappointed;  he  had  hoped,  and 
still  hoped,  that  something  would  come  of  it  after 
awhile.  Phillips  then  alluded  to  the  deadly  hostility 
which  the  proclamation  had  naturally  excited  in  pro- 
slavery  quarters,  and  gently  hinted  that  the  Northern 
people,  now  generally  anti-slavery,  were  not  satisfied 
that  it  was  being  honestly  carried  out  by  all  of  the 
nation’s  agents  and  Generals  in  the  South.  £ My  own 
impression,  Mr.  Phillips,’  said  the  President,  ‘ is  that 
the  masses  of  the  country  generally  are  dissatisfied 
chiefly  at  our  lack  of  military  successes.  Defeat  and 
failure  in  the  field  make  everything  seem  wrong.’  His 
face  was  now  clouded,  and  his  next  words  were  some- 
what bitter.  £ Most  of  us  here  present,’  he  said,  £ have 
been  nearly  all  our  lives  working  in  minorities,  and 
many  have  got  into  a habit  of  being  dissatisfied.’  Sev- 
eral of  those  present  having  deprecated  this,  the  Presi- 
dent said,  £ At  any  rate,  it  has  been  very  rare  that  an 
opportunity  of  ££  running  ” this  administration  has 
been  lost.’  To  this  Mr.  Phillips  answered,  in  his 
sweetest  voice : £ If  we  see  this  administration  earnestly 
working  to  free  the  country  from  slavery  and  its  re- 
bellion, we  will  show  you  how  we  can  ££  run  ” it  into 
another  four  years  of  power.’  The  President’s  good 
humor  was  restored  by  this,  and  he  said:  £ Oh,  Mr. 
Phillips,  I have  ceased  to  have  any  personal  feeling  or 
expectation  in  that  matter  — I do  not  say  I never  had 
any  — so  abused  and  borne  upon  as  I have  been.’  . . . 
On  taking  our  leave  we  expressed  to  the  President  our 
thanks  for  his  kindly  reception,  and  for  his  attention 
to  statements  of  which  some  were  naturally  not  wel- 
come. The  President  bowed  graciously  at  this,  and, 
after  saying  he  was  happy  to  have  met  gentlemen 


484  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


known  to  him  by  distinguished  services,  if  not  person- 
ally, and  glad  to  listen  to  their  views,  added,  ‘ I must 
bear  this  load  which  the  country  has  intrusted  to  me 
as  well  as  I can,  and  do  the  best  I can  with  it.’  ” 

To  another  self-constituted  delegation  — this  time 
from  the  West  — who  called  at  the  White  House  one 
day,  excited  and  troubled  about  some  of  the  commis- 
sions or  omissions  of  the  administration,  the  President, 
after  hearing  them  patiently,  replied : “ Gentlemen,  sup- 
pose all  the  property  you  were  worth  was  in  gold,  and 
you  had  put  it  in  the  hands  of  Blondin  to  carry  across 
the  Niagara  river  on  a rope;  would  you  shake  the 
cable,  or  keep  shouting  out  to  him,  ‘ Blondin,  stand 
up  a little  straighter ! — - Blondin,  stoop  a little  more  — 
go  a little  faster  — lean  a little  more  to  the  north  — 
lean  a little  more  to  the  south’?  No!  you  wmuld  hold 
your  breath  as  well  as  your  tongue,  and  keep  your 
hands  off  until  he  was  safe  over.  The  Government  is 
carrying  an  immense  weight.  Untold  treasures  are  in 
their  hands.  They  are  doing  the  very  best  they  can. 
Don’t  badger  them.  Keep  silence,  and  we  ’ll  get  you 
safe  across.” 

In  1863  the  Government,  following  logically  the 
policy  of  the  Emancipation  act,  began  the  experiment 
of  introducing  colored  soldiers  into  our  armies.  This 
caused  not  only  intense  anger  at  the  South,  but  much 
doubt  and  dissatisfaction  at  the  North.  To  discuss 
some  of  the  practical  and  difficult  questions  growing 
out  of  this  measure,  Frederick  Douglass,  the  most  dis- 
tinguished representative  of  the  race  which  America 
had  so  long  held  in  chains,  was  presented  to  the  Presi- 
dent. The  account  of  the  conference,  given  by  Doug- 
lass, is  singularly  interesting.  He  says : “ I was  never 
more  quickly  or  more  completely  put  at  ease  in  the 
presence  of  a great  man  than  in  that  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  He  was  seated,  when  I entered,  in  a low 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  485 


arm-chair,  with  his  feet  extended  on  the  floor,  sur- 
rounded by  a large  number  of  documents  and  several 
busy  secretaries.  The  room  bore  the  marks  of  business, 
and  the  persons  in  it,  the  President  included,  appeared 
to  be  much  overworked  and  tired.  Long  lines  of  care 
were  already  deeply  written  on  Mr.  Lincoln’s  brow, 
and  his  strong  face,  full  of  earnestness,  lighted  up  as 
soon  as  my  name  was  mentioned.  As  I approached 
and  was  introduced  to  him,  he  arose  and  extended  his 
hand,  and  bade  me  welcome.  I at  once  felt  myself  in 
the  presence  of  an  honest  man  — one  whom  I could 
love,  honor,  and  trust,  without  reserve  or  doubt.  Pro- 
ceeding to  tell  him  who  I was  and  what  I was  doing, 
he  promptly  but  kindly  stopped  me,  saying:  ‘I  know 
who  you  are,  Mr.  Douglass;  Mr.  Seward  has  told  me 
all  about  you.  Sit  down ; I am  glad  to  see  you.’  I 
urged,  among  other  things,  the  necessity  of  granting 
the  colored  soldiers  equal  pay  and  promotion  with 
white  soldiers,  and  retaliation  for  colored  prisoners 
killed  by  the  enemy.  Mr.  Lincoln  admitted  the  justice 
of  my  demand  for  equal  pay  and  promotion  of  colored 
soldiers,  but  on  the  matter  of  retaliation  he  differed 
from  me  entirely.  I shall  never  forget  the  benignant 
expression  of  his  face,  the  tearful  look  of  his  eye,  and 
the  quiver  in  his  voice,  when  he  deprecated  a resort  to 
retaliatory  measures.  ‘ Once  begun,’  said  he,  ‘ I do  not 
know  where  such  a measure  would  stop.’  He  said  he 
could  not  take  men  out  and  kill  them  in  cold  blood 
for  what  was  done  by  others.  If  he  could  get  hold  of 
the  persons  who  were  guilty  of  killing  the  colored  pris- 
oners in  cold  blood,  the  case  would  be  different ; but 
he  could  not  kill  the  innocent  for  the  guilty.  After- 
wards we  discussed  the  means  most  desirable  to  be  em- 
ployed outside  the  army  to  induce  the  slaves  in  the 
rebel  States  to  come  within  the  Federal  lines.  The  in- 
creasing opposition  to  the  war  in  the  North,  and  the 


486  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


mad  cry  against  it  because  it  was  being  made  an  aboli- 
tion war,  alarmed  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  made  him  appre- 
hensive that  a peace  might  be  forced  upon  him  which 
would  leave  still  in  slavery  all  who  had  not  come  within 
our  lines.  What  he  wanted  was  to  make  his  proclama- 
tion as  effective  as  possible  in  the  event  of  such  a 
peace.  He  said,  in  a regretful  tone,  ‘ The  slaves  are 
not  coming  into  our  lines  as  rapidly  and  numerously 
as  I had  hoped.’  I replied  that  the  slaveholders  knew 
how  to  keep  such  things  from  their  slaves,  and  probably 
very  few  knew  of  his  proclamation.  ‘ Well,’  he  said, 
‘ I want  you  to  set  about  devising  some  means  of 
making  them  acquainted  with  it,  and  for  bringing  them 
into  our  lines.’  What  he  said  showed  a deeper  moral 
conviction  against  slavery  than  I had  ever  seen  before 
in  anything  spoken  or  written  by  him.  I listened  with 
the  deepest  interest  and  profoundest  satisfaction,  and, 
at  his  suggestion,  agreed  to  undertake  the  organizing 
of  a band  of  scouts,  composed  of  colored  men,  whose 
business  should  be,  somewhat  after  the  original  plan  of 
John  Brown,  to  go  into  the  rebel  States  beyond  the 
lines  of  our  armies,  carry  the  news  of  emancipation, 
and  urge  the  slaves  to  come  within  our  boundaries.” 

Frederick  Douglass  once  remarked  that  Lincoln  was 
one  of  the  few  white  men  he  ever  passed  an  hour  with 
who  failed  to  remind  him  in  some  way,  before  the  inter- 
view terminated,  that  he  was  a negro.  “ He  always 
impressed  me  as  a strong,  earnest  man,  having  no  time 
or  disposition  to  trifle;  grappling  with  all  his  might 
the  work  he  had  in  hand.  The  expression  of  his  face 
was  a blending  of  suffering  with  patience  and  fortitude. 
Men  called  him  homely,  and  homely  he  was ; but  it  was 
manifestly  a human  homeliness.  His  eyes  had  in  them 
the  tenderness  of  motherhood,  and  his  mouth  and  other 
features  the  highest  perfection  of  a genuine  manhood.” 

As  though  the  political  difficulties  that  beset  Presi- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  487 


dent  Lincoln  in  the  first  half  of  1863  were  not  dis- 
couragement enough,  they  were  attended  by  dishearten- 
ing reverses  to  our  arms.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
on  the  removal  of  General  McClellan  from  command 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  in  November,  1862,  Gen- 
eral Burnside  succeeded  him.  The  change  proved  an 
unfortunate  one.  General  Burnside  was  an  earnest  and 
gallant  soldier,  but  was  not  equal  to  the  vast  responsi- 
bilities of  his  new  position.  It  is  said,  to  his  credit, 
that  he  was  three  times  offered  the  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  three  times  he  declined. 
Finally  it  was  pressed  upon  him  by  positive  orders,  and 
he  could  no  longer,  without  insubordination,  refuse  it. 
In  addressing  General  Halleck,  after  his  appointment, 
he  said : “ Had  I been  asked  to  take  it,  I should  have 
declined ; but  being  ordered,  I cheerfully  obey.”  After 
his  fearful  defeat  at  Fredericksburg  (December  13, 
1862),  he  said:  “ The  fault  was  mine.  The  entire  re- 
sponsibility of  failure  must  rest  on  my  shoulders.” 
By  his  manly  and  courageous  bearing,  and  the  strong 
sincerity  of  his  character,  he  retained  the  respect  and 
s}rmpathy  of  the  President  and  of  the  country.  He 
immediately  retired  from  command  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  which,  under  his  brief  leadership,  had  fought 
the  most  bloody  and  disastrous  battle  in  its  history. 

General  Joseph  Hooker,  the  fourth  commander  of 
the  heroic  but  unfortunate  Army  of  the  Potomac,  was 
appointed  to  that  position  by  President  Lincoln  in 
January,  1863.  The  two  men  had  met  briefly  early  in 
the  war,  when  Hooker,  then  living  in  California,  has- 
tened to  Washington  to  offer  his  services  to  the  Gov- 
ernment ; but  for  some  reason  General  Scott  disliked 
him,  and  his  offer  was  not  accepted.  After  some 
months,  Hooker,  giving  up  the  idea  of  getting  a com- 
mand, decided  to  return  to  California ; but  before 
leaving  he  called  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  President. 


488  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


He  was  introduced  as  “ Captain  Hooker.”  The  Presi- 
dent, being  pressed  for  time,  was  about  to  dismiss  him 
with  a few  civil  phrases ; when,  to  his  surprise,  Hooker 
began  the  following  speech : “ Mr.  President,  my  friend 
makes  a mistake.  I am  not  ‘ Captain  Hooker,’  but 
was  once  ‘ Lieutenant-Colonel  Hooker  ’ of  the  regular 
army.  I was  lately  a farmer  in  California.  Since  the 
rebellion  broke  out  I have  been  trying  to  get  into  the 
service;  but  I find  I am  not  wanted.  I am  about  to 
return  home ; but  before  going,  I was  anxious  to  pay 
my  respects  to  you,  and  to  express  my  wishes  for  yoifr 
personal  welfare  and  success  in  quelling  this  rebellion. 
And  I want  to  say  one  word  more.  I was  at  Bull  Run 
the  other  day,  Mr.  President,  and  it  is  no  vanity  in  me 

to  say  I am  a d d sight  better  general  than  yon  had 

on  that  field.”  This  was  said,  not  in  the  tone  of  a brag- 
gart, but  of  a man  who  knew  what  he  was  talking 
about ; and,  as  the  President  afterward  said,  he  ap- 
peared at  that  moment  as  if  perfectly  able  to  make  good 
his  words.  Lincoln  seized  his  hand,  making  him  sit 
down,  and  began  an  extended  chat.  The  result  was 
that  Hooker  did  not  return  to  California,  but  in  a few 
weeks  Captain  Hooker  was  Brigadier-General  Hooker. 
He  served  with  distinction  under  McClellan  in  the 
Peninsular  campaign  and  at  Antietam,  and  commanded 
the  right  wing  of  the  army  at  Fredericksburg.  He  had 
come  to  be  known  as  “ Fighting  Joe  Hooker,”  and  was 
generally  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  vigorous  and 
efficient  Generals  of  the  Union  army. 

Such  was  the  man  who,  in  one  of  the  darkest  hours 
of  the  Union  cause,  was  selected  to  lead  once  more  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  against  the  enemy.  This  army, 
since  its  defeat  at  Fredericksburg,  had  remained  dis- 
organized and  ineffective.  Its  new  commander,  unlike 
his  predecessor  Burnside,  was  full  of  confidence.  The 
President,  made  cautious  by  experience,  deemed  it  his 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  489 


duty  to  accompany  the  appointment  by  some  timely 
words  of  warning;  and  accordingly  he  addressed  to 
General  Hooker  the  following  frank,  manly,  and 
judicious  letter. 

Executive  Mansion  Washington,  D.  C. 

January  26,  1863. 

Major-General  Hooker. 

General  : — I have  placed  you  at  the  head  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  Of  course,  I have  done  this 
upon  what  appear  to  me  to  be  sufficient  reasons ; and 
yet  I think  it  best  for  you  to  know  that  there  are 
some  things  in  regard  to  which  I am  not  satisfied 
with  you.  I believe  you  to  be  a brave  and  skilful 
soldier,  which  of  course  I like.  I also  believe  that 
you  do  not  mix  politics  with  your  profession,  in 
which  you  are  right.  You  have  confidence  in  yourself, 
which  is  a valuable  if  not  indispensable  quality.  You 
are  ambitious,  which,  within  reasonable  bounds,  does 
good  rather  than  harm ; but  I think  that  during 
General  Burnside’s  command  of  the  army  you  have 
taken  counsel  with  your  ambition,  and  thwarted  him 
as  much  as  you  could,  in  which  you  did  a great 
wrong  to  the  country  and  to  a most  meritorious  and 
honorable  brother  officer.  I have  heard,  in  such  a way 
as  to  believe  it,  of  your  recently  saying  that  both  the 
army  and  the  Government  needed  a dictator.  Of 
course,  it  was  not  for  this,  but  in  spite  of  it,  that  I 
have  given  you  the  command.  Only  those  generals  who 
gain  success  can  be  dictators.  What  I now  ask  from 
you  is  military  success,  and  I will  risk  the  dictatorship. 
The  Government  will  support  you  to  the  utmost  of  its 
ability,  which  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  it  has  done 
and  will  do  for  all  commanders.  I much  fear  that  the 
spirit  which  you  have  aided  to  infuse  into  the  army, 
of  criticizing  their  commander  and  withholding  confi- 
dence from  him,  will  now  turn  upon  you.  I shall  assist 
you,  as  far  as  I can,  to  pull  it  down.  Neither  you  nor 
Napoleon,  if  he  were  alive  again,  could  get  anjr  good 


490  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


out  of  an  army  while  such  a spirit  prevails  in  it.  And 
now,  beware  of  rashness.  Beware  of  rashness;  but  with 
energy  and  sleepless  vigilance,  go  forward  and  give  us 
victories.  Yours  very  truly,  A.  Lincoln. 

In  all  Lincoln’s  writings  there  are  few  things  finer 
than  this  letter.  In  its  candor  and  friendliness,  its 
simplicity  and  deep  wisdom,  and  its  clearness  of  ex- 
pression, it  is  almost  perfect ; and  the  President’s  deep 
solicitude  for  the  safety  of  the  army  and  anxiety  for 
its  success  give  a pathetic  touch  to  the  closing  sen- 
tences. This  solicitude  found  partial  relief  in  a per- 
sonal inspection  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  which  was 
made  in  April,  just  before  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville, 
and  occupied  five  or  six  days.  The  President  was  ac- 
companied by  Attorney-General  Bates,  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
his  son  Tad,  and  Mr.  Noah  P.  Brooks.  The  first  night 
out  was  spent  on  the  little  steamer  which  conveyed  the 
party  to  their  destination.  After  all  had  retired  to 
rest  except  the  anxious  President  and  one  or  two  others, 
Lincoln  gave  utterance  to  his  deep-seated  apprehen- 
sions in  the  whispered  query  to  his  friend,  “ How 
many  of  our  monitors  will  you  wager  are  at  the  bottom 
of  Charleston  Harbor?  ” “ I essayed,”  writes  Mr. 

Brooks,  “ to  give  a cheerful  view  of  the  Charleston 
situation.  But  he  would  not  be  encouraged.  He  then 
went  on  to  say  that  he  did  not  believe  that  an  attack 
by  water  on  Charleston  could  ever  possibly  succeed. 
He  talked  a long  time  about  his  ‘ notions,’  as  he  called 
them ; and  at  General  Halleck’s  headquarters  next  day, 
the  first  inquiries  were  for  4 rebel  papers,’  which  were 
usually  brought  in  from  the  picket  lines.  These  he 
examined  with  great  anxiety,  hoping  that  he  might  find 
an  item  of  news  from  Charleston.  One  day,  having 
looked  all  over  a Richmond  paper  several  times  with- 
out finding  a paragraph  which  he  had  been  told  was  in 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  491 


it,  he  was  mightily  pleased  to  have  it  pointed  out  to 
him,  and  said,  ‘ It  is  plain  that  newspapers  are  made 
for  newspaper  men ; being  only  a layman,  it  was  im- 
possible for  me  to  find  that.’  ” 

The  out-door  life,  the  constant  riding,  and  the  res- 
pite from  the  monstrous  burdens  at  the  capital,  ap- 
peared to  afford  mental  and  physical  benefit  to  the 
worn  President.  But  in  answer  to  a remark  expressing 
this  conviction,  he  replied  sadly,  44  I don’t  know  about 
4 the  rest  ’ as  you  call  it.  I suppose  it  is  good  for  the 
body.  But  the  tired  part  of  me  is  inside  and  out  of 
reach.”  44  He  rode  a great  deal,”  says  Mr.  Brooks, 
“ while  with  the  army,  always  preferring  the  saddle  to 
the  elegant  ambulance  which  had  been  provided  for 
him.  He  sat  his  horse  well,  but  he  rode  hard,  and 
during  his  stay  I think  he  regularly  used  up  at  least  one 
horse  each  day.  Little  Tad  invariably  followed  in  his 
father’s  train ; and,  mounted  on  a smaller  horse,  accom- 
panied by  an  orderly,  the  youngster  was  a conspicuous 
figure,  as  his  gray  cloak  flew  in  the  wind  while  we  hung 
on  the  flanks  of  Hooker  and  his  generals.” 

General  Hooker  was  now  planning  his  great  move- 
ment against  Richmond,  and  talked  freely  of  the  matter 
with  the  President.  In  the  course  of  a conversation, 
Lincoln  casually  remarked,  44  If  you  get  to  Richmond, 
General.”  But  Hooker  interrupted  him  with  — “ Ex- 
cuse me,  Mr.  President,  but  there  is  no  4 if  ’ in  the  case. 
I am  going  straight  to  Richmond,  if  I live!  ” Later  in 
the  day,  Lincoln,  privately  referring  to  this  self-confi- 
dence of  the  General,  said  to  Mr.  Brooks,  rather  mourn- 
fully, 44  It  is  about  the  worst  thing  I have  seen  since  I 
have  been  down  here.”  In  further  illustration  of 
Hooker’s  confidence  in  himself,  Mr.  Brooks  says : 44  One 
night,  Hooker  and  I being  alone  in  his  hut,  the  General 
standing  with  his  back  to  the  fireplace,  alert,  handsome, 
full  of  courage  and  confidence,  said  laughingly,  4 The 


492  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


President  says  you  know  about  that  letter  he  wrote  me 
on  taking  command.’  I acknowledged  that  the  Presi- 
dent had  read  it  to  me.  The  General  seemed  to  think 
that  the  advice  was  well-meant,  but  unnecessary.  Then 
he  added,  with  that  charming  assurance  which  became 
him  so  well,  ‘ After  I have  been  to  Richmond,  I am 
going  to  have  that  letter  printed.’  ” But  all  that  came 
of  Hooker’s  confidence,  after  three  months  of  elaborate 
preparation,  was  a grand  forward  movement  into  Vir- 
ginia and  another  bloody  and  humiliating  defeat  for 
the  heroic  but  unfortunate  army  under  his  command. 

The  first  of  May,  1863,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
under  Hooker  met  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia 
under  Lee  and  Jackson,  near  Chancellorsville,  Virginia. 
It  was  here  that  Jackson  executed  his  brilliant  and  suc- 
cessful flank  movement  around  the  Union  right,  en- 
suring a victory  for  his  side  but  losing  his  own  life. 
After  a contest  of  several  days,  involving  the  fruitless 
sacrifice  of  thousands  of  gallant  soldiers,  Hooker’s 
army  fell  back  and  recrossed  the  Rappahannock.1 

The  news  of  this  fresh  disaster  was  an  almost  stun- 
ning shock  to  President  Lincoln.  During  the  progress 
of  the  battle  he  was  under  a cruel  strain  of  anxiety 

1 The  cause  of  General  Hooker’s  seeming  stupefaction  at  the  criti- 
cal point  of  the  Chancellorsville  battle  has  been  much  discussed  but 
never  satisfactorily  explained.  It  has  been  thought  that  he  was  dis- 
abled by  the  shock  of  a cannon-ball  striking  a post  or  pillar  of  the 
house  where  he  had  his  headquarters.  An  interesting  entry  in 
Welles’s  Diary,  made  soon  after  the  battle,  reflects  somewhat  the  feel- 
ing at  the  time.  “Sumner  expresses  an  absolute  want  of  confidence 
in  Hooker;  says  he  knows  him  to  be  a blasphemous  wretch;  that 
after  crossing  the  Rappahannock  and  reaching  Centreville,  Hooker 
exultingly  exclaimed,  ‘The  enemy  are  in  my  power,  and  God  Al- 
mighty cannot  deprive  me  of  them.’  I have  heard  before  of  this,  but 
not  so  direct  and  positive.  The  sudden  paralysis  that  followed,  when 
the  army  in  the  midst  of  a successful  career  was  suddenly  checked  and 
commenced  its  retreat,  has  never  been  explained.  Whiskey  is  said  by 
Sumner  to  have  done  the  work.  The  President  said  that  if  Hooker 
had  been  killed  by  the  shot  which  knocked  over  the  pillar  that  stunned 
him,  we  should  have  been  successful.” 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  493 


and  suspense.  Secretary  Welles,  who  was  with  him  a 
part  of  the  time,  says : “ He  had  a feverish  eagerness 
for  facts ; was  constantly  up  and  down,  for  nothing 
reliable  came  from  the  front.”  Mr.  Noah  Brooks  re- 
lates that  in  company  with  an  old  friend  of  Lincoln’s 
he  was  waiting  in  one  of  the  family  rooms  of  the  White 
House.  “ A door  opened  and  Lincoln  appeared,  hold- 
ing an  open  telegram  in  his  hand.  The  sight  of  his 
face  and  figure,  was  frightful.  He  seemed  stricken 
with  death.  Almost  tottering  to  a chair,  he  sat  down; 
and  then  I mechanically  noticed  that  his  face  was  of 
the  same  color  as  the  wall  behind  him  — not  pale,  not 
even  sallow,  but  gray,  like  ashes.  Extending  the  des- 
patch to  me,  he  said,  with  a hollow,  far-off  voice, 
‘ Read  it  — news  from  the  army.’  The  telegram  was 
from  General  Butterfield,  I think,  then  chief  of  staff 
to  Hooker.  It  was  very  brief,  simply  saying  that  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  had  4 safely  recrossed  the  Rappa- 
hannock,’ and  was  now  at  its  old  position  on  the  north 
bank  of  that  stream.  The  President’s  friend,  Dr. 
Henry,  an  old  man  and  somewhat  impressionable,  burst 
into  tears,  — not  so  much,  probably,  at  the  news  as 
on  account  of  its  effect  upon  Lincoln.  The  President 
regarded  the  old  man  for  an  instant  with  dry  eyes, 
and  said,  4 What  will  the  country  say?  Oh,  what  will 
the  country  say?  ’ He  seemed  hungry  for  consolation 
and  cheer,  and  sat  a little  while  talking  about  the  fail- 
ure. Yet  it  did  not  seem  that  he  was  disappointed  so 
much  for  himself,  but  that  he  thought  the  country 
would  be.” 

Lincoln’s  anxiety  regarding  the  effect  at  the  North 
of  these  repeated  reverses  was  not  without  sufficient 
cause.  Aside  from  those  who  were  positively  opposed 
to  the  war,  the  loyal  people  were  wearying  of  the  use- 
less slaughter,  the  unavailing  struggles,  of  the  gallant 
soldiers.  The  growing  distrust  of  the  capacity  of  their 


494  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


military  leaders  was  also  keenly  felt.  The  feeling  of 
that  time  is  so  well  expressed  in  a stirring  poem  en- 
titled “ Wanted,  a Man,”  written  by  Mr.  E.  C.  Sted- 
man,  that  it  is  given  place  here.  It  has  an  additional 
personal  interest  connected  with  President  Lincoln  in 
the  fact  that  he  was  so  impressed  with  the  piece  that 
he  read  it  aloud  to  his  assembled  Cabinet. 

Back  from  the  trebly  crimsoned  field 
Terrible  words  are  thunder-tost; 

Full  of  the  wrath  that  will  not  yield, 

Full  of  revenge  for  battles  lost! 

Hark  to  their  echo,  as  it  crost 
The  Capital,  making  faces  wan : 

End  this  murderous  holocaust; 

Abraham  Lincoln,  give  us  a man  ! 

Give  us  a man  of  God’s  own  mould, 

Born  to  marshal  his  fellow-men; 

One  whose  fame  is  not  bought  and  sold 
At  the  stroke  of  a politician’s  pen; 

Give  us  the  man  of  thousands  ten, 

Fit  to  do  as  well  as  to  plan; 

Give  us  a rallying-cry,  and  then, 

Abraham  Lincoln,  give  us  a man  ! 

No  leader  to  shirk  the  boasting  foe, 

And  to  march  and  countermarch  our  brave 
Till  they  fall  like  ghosts  in  the  marshes  low, 

And  swamp-grass  covers  each  nameless  grave; 
Nor  another,  whose  fatal  banners  wave 
Aye  in  Disaster’s  shameful  van; 

Nor  another,  to  bluster,  and  lie,  and  rave,  — 
Abraham  Lincoln,  give  us  a man  ! 

Hearts  are  mourning  in  the  North, 

While  the  sister  rivers  seek  the  main, 

Red  with  our  life-blood  flowing  forth  — 

Who  shall  gather  it  up  again? 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  495 


Though  we  march  to  the  battle-plain 
Firmly  as  when  the  strife  began, 

Shall  all  our  offerings  be  in  vain?  — 
Abraham  Lincoln,  give  us  a man  ! 

Is  there  never  one  in  all  the  land, 

One  on  whose  might  the  Cause  may  lean? 
Are  all  the  common  ones  so  grand, 

And  all  the  titled  ones  so  mean? 

What  if  your  failure  may  have  been 
In  trying  to  make  good  bread  from  bran, 
From  worthless  metal  a weapon  keen?  — 
Abraham  Lincoln,  find  us  a man  ! 

O,  we  will  follow  him  to  the  death, 

Where  the  foeman’s  fiercest  columns  are ! 
O,  we  will  use  our  latest  breath, 

Cheering  for  every  sacred  star! 

His  to  marshal  us  high  and  far; 

Ours  to  battle,  as  patriots  can 

When  a Hero  leads  the  Holy  War!  — 
Abraham  Lincoln,  give  us  a man  ! 


CHAPTER  XXV 


The  Battle-summer  of  1863  — A Turn  of  the  Tide  — Lee’s  Invasion  of 
Pennsylvania  — A Threatening  Crisis  — Change  of  Union  Com- 
manders — Meade  succeeds  Hooker  — The  Battle  of  Gettysburg  — 
Lincoln’s  Anxiety  during  the  Fight  — The  Retreat  of  Lee  — Union 
Victories  in  the  Southwest  — The  Capture  of  Vicksburg  — Lin- 
coln’s Thanks  to  Grant  — Returning  Cheerfulness  — Congratula- 
tions to  the  Country  — Improved  State  of  Feeling  at  the  North  — 
State  Elections  of  1863  — The  Administration  Sustained  — Ded- 
ication of  the  National  Cemetery  at  Gettysburg  — Lincoln’s  Ad- 
dress — Scenes  and  Incidents  at  the  Dedication  — Meeting  with 
Old  John  Burns  — Edward  Everett’s  Impressions  of  Lincoln. 

MIDSUMMER  of  1863  brought  a turn  in  the 
tide  of  military  affairs.  It  came  none  too  soon 
for  the  safety  of  the  nation.  The  repeated  reverses  to 
the  Union  arms  ending  with  the  shocking  disasters  at 
Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville — although  slightly 
relieved  by  the  costly  success  of  Stone  River  — had 
seemed  to  throw  the  chances  of  war  in  favor  of  the 
South ; and  the  Union  cause  was  at  the  crisis  of  its  fate. 
But  now  fortune  smiled  upon  the  North,  and  its  lost 
hope  and  lost  ground  were  regained  at  Gettysburg  and 
Vicksburg.  These  great  battles  are  justly  regarded 
as  marking  the  turning-point  of  the  war.  It  was  yet 
far  from  finished ; there  remained  nearly  two  years  of 
desperate  fighting,  with  heroic  struggles  and  terrible 
sacrifice  of  life,  before  the  end  should  come.  But  from 
this  time  the  character  of  the  struggle  seemed  to 
change.  The  armies  of  the  South  fought,  not  less 
desperately,  but  more  on  the  defensive;  and  their  final 
overthrow  was  in  all  human  probability  chiefly  a ques- 
tion of  time. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  497 


Emboldened  by  his  success  at  Chancellorsville  in 
May,  General  Lee  again  assumed  the  offensive,  and 
recrossed  the  Potomac  river  into  Maryland.  Late  in 
June  he  invaded  Pennsylvania,  and  occupied  a position 
threatening  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  Washington. 
The  situation  was  most  critical.  If  Lee  could  once 
more  beat  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  as  he  had  done 
so  many  times,  these  three  great  cities,  and  even  New 
York,  might  be  at  his  mercy.  The  feeling  in  Washing- 
ton is  reflected  in  entries  made  at  the  time  in  Mr. 
Welles’s  Diary.  “ Something  of  a panic  pervades  the 
city,”  says  Mr.  Welles.  “ Singular  rumors  reach  us 
of  Rebel  advances  into  Maryland.  It  is  said  they  have 
reached  Hagerstown,  and  some  of  them  have  penetrated 
as  far  as  Chambersburg  in  Pennsylvania.  . . . The 
city  is  full  of  strange,  wild  rumors  of  Rebel  raids  in 
the  vicinity  and  of  trains  seized  in  sight  of  the  Capital. 
The  War  Department  is  wholly  unprepared  for  an 
irruption  here,  and  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  might  have  dashed 
into  the  city  to-day  [June  28]  with  impunity.  . . . 
I have  a panic  telegraph  from  Governor  Curtin  of 
Pennsylvania,  wrho  is  excitable  and  easily  alarmed,  en- 
treating that  guns  and  gunners  may  be  sent  from  the 
Navy  Yard  at  Philadelphia  to  Harrisburg  without 
delay.  ...  I went  again,  at  a late  hour,  to  the  War 
Department,  but  could  get  no  facts  or  intelligence 
from  the  Secretary.  All  was  vague,  opaque,  thick 
darkness.  I really  think  Stanton  is  no  better  posted 
than  myself,  and  from  what  Stanton  says  am  afraid 
Hooker  does  not  comprehend  Lee’s  intentions  nor 
know  how  to  counteract  them.  It  looks  to  me  as  if 
Lee  was  putting  forth  his  whole  energy  and  force 
in  one  great  and  desperate  struggle  which  shall  be 
decisive.” 

Following  Lee,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  under 
General  Hooker,  also  recrossed  the  Potomac,  and  pur- 


498  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


sued  the  enemy  by  a somewhat  pai’allel  route,  but  keep- 
ing carefully  between  him  and  Washington.  The  oc- 
casion was  one  calling  for  the  best  resources  of  a great 
military  commander;  and  General  Hooker,  realizing 
his  unfitness  for  the  responsibility,  asked  to  be  relieved 
of  the  command.  Thus  was  thrown  upon  the  President 
the  hazardous  necessity  of  changing  commanders  upon 
the  very  eve  of  a great  battle.  It  was  a terrible  emer- 
gency. Even  the  stout-hearted  Stanton  was  appalled. 
He  afterward  stated  that  when  he  received  the  despatch 
from  Hooker,  asking  to  be  relieved,  his  heart  sank 
within  him,  and  he  was  more  depressed  than  at  any 
other  moment  of  the  war.  “ I could  not  say,”  said  Mr. 
Stanton,  “ that  any  other  officer  knew  General  Hooker’s 
plans,  or  the  position  even  of  the  various  divisions  of 
the  army.  I sent  for  the  President  to  come  at  once 
to  the  War  Office.  It  was  in  the  evening,  but  the  Presi- 
dent soon  appeared.  I handed  him  the  despatch.  As 
he  read  it  his  face  became  like  lead,  and  I said,  ‘ What 
shall  be  done?’  He  replied  instantly,  ‘ Accept  his 
resignation.’  ” 

Immediately  an  order  was  sent  to  Major-General 
George  G.  Meade,  one  of  the  most  efficient  of  the  corps 
commanders  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  appointing 
him  to  the  chief  command.  Meade  was  a quiet,  un- 
assuming man,  very  unlike  Hooker.  Three  days  after 
assuming  command,  he  led  his  army  against  the 
Southern  host  at  Gettysburg,  where,  after  a most 
bloody  and  memorable  battle  of  three  days’  duration 
(July  1,  2,  and  3,  1863),  was  won  the  first  decisive 
victory  in  the  history  of  the  gallant  Army  of  the 
Potomac.  Lee  retired,  with  disastrous  losses,  across 
the  Potomac  to  Virginia;  and  Washington  and  the 
North  breathed  free  again. 

Senator  Chandler  of  Michigan,  speaking  of  the  ter- 
rible strain  on  Lincoln  during  the  progress  of  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  499 


battle  of  Gettysburg,  said : “ I shall  never  forget  the 
painful  anxiety  of  those  few  days  when  the  fate  of 
the  nation  seemed  to  hang  in  the  balance ; nor  the 
restless  solicitude  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  as  he  paced  up  and 
down  the  room,  reading  despatches,  soliloquizing,  and 
often  stopping  to  trace  the  position  of  the  contending 
armies  on  the  map  which  hung  on  the  wall;  nor  the 
relief  we  all  felt  when  the  fact  was  established  that 
victory,  though  gained  at  such  fearful  cost,  was  indeed 
on  the  side  of  the  Union.” 

Amidst  the  murk  and  gloom  of  those  dark  days  in 
Washington,  when  the  suspense  was  breathless  and  the 
heart  of  the  nation  responded  in  muffled  beats  to  the 
dull  booming  of  the  cannon  of  Meade  and  Lee  at 
Gettysburg,  an  episode  occurred,  with  Lincoln  as  the 
central  figure,  which  reveals  perhaps  more  poignantly 
than  any  other  in  his  whole  career  the  depths  of  feel- 
ing in  that  tender  and  reverential  soul.  On  Sunday 
evening,  July  4,  — the  fourth  day  of  that  terrible 
battle,  with  nothing  definite  yet  known  of  the  result,  — 
the  President  drove  out  in  a carriage,  in  company  with 
two  daughters  of  Secretary  Stanton,  to  the  line  of 
defenses  near  Arlington.  It  was  toward  sundown ; and 
a brigade  of  troops  were  forming  in  position  for  an 
evening  parade  or  review.  The  commander  of  the  bri- 
gade, General  Tannatt,  recognizing  the  President  and 
his  party,  rode  up  to  the  carriage  and  invited  them  to 
witness  the  parade.  The  President  assented.  His  face 
was  drawn  and  haggard  in  its  expression  of  anxiety 
and  sorrow.  As  it  was  Sunday  evening,  some  of  the 
regimental  bands  played  familiar  religious  pieces.  The 
President,  hearing  them,  inquired  of  General  Tannatt 
if  any  of  his  bands  could  play  “ Lead  Kindly  Light.” 
Then  in  a low  voice  and  with  touching  accents  he  re- 
peated, as  if  to  himself,  the  familiar  lines  — never  more 
expressive  or  appropriate  than  now,  — 


500  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Lead,  kindly  light,  amid  the  encircling  gloom, 
Lead  thou  me  on. 

Keep  thou  my  feet;  I do  not  ask  to  see 

The  distant  scene,  — one  step  enough  for  me. 

As  the  sweet  strains  of  the  familiar  hymn  floated  on 
the  evening  air,  Lincoln’s  sad  face  became  sadder  still, 
and  tears  were  seen  coursing  down  his  cheeks.  What 
emotions  were  his,  who  can  tell,  as  he  thought  of  that 
great  battle-field  not  far  away,  its  issues  yet  unknown, 
its  ground  still  covered  with  dead  and  wounded  soldiers 
whose  heroic  deeds  — to  use  his  noble  words  spoken  a 
few  months  later  on  that  historic  field — “have  con- 
secrated it  far  above  our  power  to  add  or  detract.” 

General  Tannatt,  who  knew  Lincoln  well  and  had 
spoken  with  him  many  times,  never  saw  him  again; 
and  his  view  of  that  tragic,  tear-wet  face  remains  to 
him  a vivid  and  precious  memory.1 

While  the  eyes  of  the  nation  were  fastened  upon  the 
great  drama  being  enacted  near  the  capital,  events 
scarcely  less  momentous  were  occurring  in  the  South- 
west. The  campaign  against  Vicksburg,  the  great 
Confederate  stronghold  on  the  Mississippi  river,  had 
been  in  active  progress,  under  the  personal  command 
of  General  Grant,  for  several  months.  The  importance 
of  this  strategic  point  was  fully  understood  by  the 
enemy,  and  it  was  defended  most  stubbornly.  At  first 
Grant’s  plans  proved  unsuccessful;  the  cutting  of 
canals  and  opening  of  bayous  failed  — as  President 
Lincoln  had  expected  and  predicted.  But  these  failures 
only  served  to  develop  the  unsuspected  energy  of 
Grant’s  character  and  the  extent  of  his  military  re- 
sources. He  boldly  changed  his  entire  plan  of  opera- 

1 General  T.  R.  Tannatt,  a graduate  of  West  Point  in  1858,  is  now 
(1913)  an  active  and  honored  citizen  of  Spokane,  Washington. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  501 


tions,  abandoned  his  line  of  communication,  removed 
his  army  to  a point  below  Vicksburg  and  attacked  the 
city  in  the  rear.  With  dogged  persistence  he  pressed 
forward,  gaining  point  by  point,  beating  off  General 
Johnston’s  forces  on  one  side  and  driving  Pemberton 
before  him  into  Vicksburg;  until  finally,  by  the  aid 
of  Admiral  Porter’s  gunboats  on  the  Mississippi,  he 
had  entirely  invested  the  city.  Gradually  and  per- 
sistently his  lines  closed  in,  pushed  forward  by  assault 
and  siege;  until  Vicksburg  accepted  its  doom,  and  on 
the  4th  of  July,  1863,  — the  day  of  Lee’s  retreat  from 
Gettysburg,  — the  city  and  garrison  surrendered  to 
the  victorious  Grant. 

Lincoln’s  exuberant  joy  over  the  capture  of  Vicks- 
burg is  revealed  in  an  entry  made  at  the  time  in  Mr. 
Welles’s  Diary.  “ I was  handed  a despatch  from  Ad- 
miral Porter,  communicating  the  fall  of  Vicksburg  on 
the  Fourth  of  July,”  says  Mr.  Welles.  44  I immediately 
returned  to  the  Executive  Mansion.  The  President 
was  detailing  certain  points  relative  to  Grant’s  move- 
ments on  the  map  to  Chase  and  two  or  three  others, 
when  I gave  him  the  tidings.  Putting  down  the  map 
he  rose  at  once,  said  he  would  drop  these  topics,  and 
added,  4 I myself  will  telegraph  this  news  to  General 
Meade.’  He  seized  his  hat,  but  suddenly  stopped,  his 
countenance  beaming  with  joy;  he  caught  my  hand, 
and  throwing  his  arm  around  me,  exclaimed,  ‘ What  can 
we  do  for  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  for  this  glorious 
intelligence?  He  is  always  giving  us  good  news.  I 
cannot,  in  words,  tell  you  my  joy  over  this  result.  It 
is  great,  Mr.  Welles,  it  is  great!’  . . . We  walked 
the  lawn  together.  ‘ This,’  said  he,  4 will  relieve  Banks. 
It  will  inspire  me.’  ” 

The  Union  victories  at  Vicksburg  and  Gettysburg 
caused  great  rejoicing  at  the  North,  and  gave  added 
zest  to  the  celebration  of  the  national  patriotic  holiday. 


502  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


President  Lincoln,  mindful  of  the  “ almost  inestimable 
services,”  as  he  termed  them,  of  General  Grant,  and 
as  it  was  his  wont  to  do  in  such  circumstances,  made 
haste  to  acknowledge  his  own  and  the  country’s  in- 
debtedness to  the  man  who  had  accomplished  a great 
deed.  He  addressed  to  the  conqueror  of  Vicksburg 
the  following  letter: 

Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  D.  C. 

July  13,  1863. 

Major-General  Grant. 

My  Dear  General  : — I do  not  remember  that  you 
and  I ever  met  personally.  I write  this  now  as  a 
grateful  acknowledgment  for  the  almost  inestimable 
services  you  have  done  the  country.  I write  to  say 
a word  further.  When  you  first  reached  the  vicinity 
of  Vicksburg,  I thought  you  should  do  what  you 
finally  did  — march  the  troops  across  the  neck,  run 
the  batteries  with  the  transports,  and  thus  go  below; 
and  I never  had  any  faith,  except  a general  hope 
that  you  knew  better  than  I,  that  the  Yazoo  Pass 
expedition,  and  the  like,  could  succeed.  When  you  got 
below,  and  took  Port  Gibson,  Grand  Gulf,  and  vicinity, 
I thought  you  should  go  down  the  river,  and  join  Gen- 
eral Banks,  and  when  you  turned  northward,  east  of  the 
Big  Black,  I feared  it  was  a mistake.  I now  wish  to 
make  the  personal  acknowledgment  that  you  were  right 
and  I was  wrong. 

Yours  truly,  A.  Lincoln. 

An  officer  who  was  the  first  from  Grant’s  army  to 
reach  Washington  after  the  surrender  of  Vicksburg,  has 
recorded  the  circumstances  of  his  interview  with  the 
President.  “ Mr.  Lincoln  received  me  very  cordially,” 
says  this  officer,  “ and  drawing  a chair  near  to  him- 
self and  motioning  me  to  be  seated  said,  ‘ Now  I want 
to  hear  all  about  Vicksburg.’  I gave  him  all  the  in- 
formation I could,  though  he  appeared  to  be  remark- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  503 


ably  well  posted  himself.  He  put  to  me  a great  many 
questions  in  detail  touching  the  siege,  the  losses,  the 
morale  of  the  army,  its  sanitary  condition,  the  hospital 
service,  and  General  Grant.  Said  he : ‘ I guess  I was 
right  in  standing  by  Grant,  although  there  was  great 
pressure  made  after  Pittsburg  Landing  to  have  him 
removed.  I thought  I saw  enough  in  Grant  to  convince 
me  that  he  was  one  on  whom  the  country  could  de- 
pend. That  ‘ unconditional  surrender  ’ message  to 
Buckner  at  Donelson  suited  me.  It  indicated  the  spirit 
of  the  man.” 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  before  the  capture  of 
Vicksburg  the  protracted  campaign  had  occasioned  no 
little  dissatisfaction  with  General  Grant ; the  President 
had  been  importuned  to  remove  him,  and  had  much 
formidable  opposition  to  encounter  in  his  determina- 
tion to  stand  by  him.  Only  a few  days  before  the 
capitulation  of  the  beleaguered  city,  Senator  Wade  of 
Ohio  — “ Bluff  Ben  Wade,”  as  he  was  termed  — called 
upon  the  President  and  urged  Grant’s  dismissal ; to 
which  Lincoln  good-naturedly  replied,  “ Senator,  that 
reminds  me  of  a story.”  “Yes,  yes,”  rejoined 
Wade  petulantly,  “ that  is  the  way  it  is  with  you,  sir, 
all  story  — story!  You  are  the  father  of  every  mili- 
tary blunder  that  has  been  made  during  the  war.  You 
are  on  your  road  to  h — 1,  sir,  with  this  Government, 
and  you  are  not  a mile  off  this  minute.”  Lincoln 
calmly  retorted,  “ Senator,  that  is  just  about  the  dis- 
tance from  here  to  the  Capitol,  is  it  not?”  The  ex- 
asperated Wade  grabbed  his  hat  and  rushed  angrily 
from  the  White  House. 

It  is  not  pleasant  to  record  that  the  cordial  and 
generous  congratulations  to  Grant  for  his  achieve- 
ments at  Vicksburg  were  in  marked  contrast  to  the 
rather  grudging  recognition  of  Meade’s  much  more 
important  and  hard-won  victory  at  Gettysburg.  In 


504  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


the  latter  case  the  despatches  from  Washington  took 
the  form  not  so  much  of  acknowledgments  of  what 
had  been  done  as  of  complaints  at  what  had  not  been 
done.  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  the  President  dictated, 
or  even  authorized,  the  ill-timed  and  peevish  despatch 
sent  to  General  Meade  1 by  the  inopportune  Halleck, 
a few  days  after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  in  which  the 
victor  on  that  desperate  field  is  officially  informed  that 
“ the  escape  of  Lee’s  army  has  created  great  dissatis- 
faction in  the  mind  of  the  President,  and  it  will  require 
an  active  and  energetic  pursuit  to  remove  the  impres- 
sion that  it  has  not  been  sufficiently  active  before.” 
To  this  extraordinary  message  Meade  at  once  made 
a simple  and  manly  rejoinder  in  which  he  said:  “ Hav- 
ing performed  my  duty  conscientiously  and  to  the  best 
of  my  ability,  the  censure  of  the  President,  as  con- 
veyed in  your  despatch,  is  in  my  judgment  so  unde- 
served that  I feel  compelled  most  respectfully  to  ask 
to  be  immediately  relieved  from  the  command  of  this 
army.”  Halleck  replied,  rather  ineptly,  that  his 
despatch  had  not  been  intended  as  a censure,  but  as 
a “ stimulus,”  and  was  not  regarded  as  a sufficient 
cause  for  Meade’s  request  to  be  relieved.  When  one 
thinks  of  the  ill-fortunes  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 

1 The  criticism  of  Meade  for  not  attacking  Lee  before  he  recrossed 
the  Potomac  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  the  attack  must  be  suc- 
cessful. On  this  point  Meade’s  words  to  Halleck,  written  in  reply  to 
the  latter’s  conciliatory  letter  of  July  28,  can  hardly  be  ignored.  “ Had 
I attacked  Lee  the  day  I proposed  to  do  so,  and  in  the  ignorance  that 
then  existed  of  his  position,  I have  every  reason  to  believe  the  attack 
would  have  been  unsuccessful,  and  would  have  resulted  disastrously. 
This  opinion  is  founded  on  the  judgment  of  a number  of  distinguished 
officers  after  inspecting  Lee’s  vacated  works  and  position.  Among 
these  officers  I could  name  Generals  Sedgwick,  Wright,  Slocum,  Hays, 
Sykes,  and  others.”  In  other  words  the  attack  which  Meade  has 
been  so  severely  blamed  for  not  making  might  have  ended  in  reversing 
the  results  at  Gettysburg,  losing  all  we  had  gained  at  such  terrible 
cost,  placed  Washington  and  other  Northern  cities  in  far  more  deadly 
peril,  and  changing  the  whole  subsequent  issues  of  the  war. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  505 


under  previous  commanders,  and  of  the  unlikelihood 
of  finding  a successor  to  Meade  as  capable  as  he  had 
shown  himself  to  be,  one  shudders  at  the  chances  of 
what  might  have  happened  had  another  change  of 
leaders  been  forced  upon  that  long-suffering  and  now 
victorious  army.  General  Meade  did  not  press  his 
resignation  after  Halleck’s  conciliatory  telegrams,  and 
remained  in  immediate  command  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  until  the  close  of  the  war  — Grant’s  accession 
to  the  chief  command  of  all  the  armies  having  marked 
the  end  of  the  well-meant  but  often  ill-advised  and 
troublesome  interference  with  military  affairs  from 
Washington. 

Mr.  Isaac  R.  Pennypacker,  in  his  Life  of  General 
Meade,  speaks  of  Halleck  and  other  prominent  offi- 
cials in  Washington  in  these  terms:  “ Possessing  much 
of  the  skill  of  the  lawyer  and  disputant,  Halleck  was 
without  military  ability.  The  Secretary  of  War,  like 
many  other  men  who  exercise  vast  power,  was  not 
great  enough  to  refrain  from  the  use  of  his  authority 
in  matters  where  his  knowledge  and  experience  did  not 
qualify  him  to  form  the  soundest  views.  Acting  with 
these  military  authorities  were  men  like  Wade  and 
Chandler,  whose  patriotism  was  of  the  exuberant  kind, 
whose  judgment  in  military  affairs  was  without  value, 
but  whose  personal  energy  impelled  them  to  have  a 
controlling  hand,  if  possible,  in  the  conduct  of  the 
war.” 

Lincoln’s  dissatisfaction  with  General  Meade  after 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  due,  as  we  now  see,  to  his 
elation  over  the  splendid  victory  for  the  Union,  his 
intense  desire  for  further  and  overwhelming  successes, 
and  his  failure  (a  quite  natural  one)  to  realize  that 
what  might  seem  desirable  and  feasible  viewed  from 
Washington  might  look  very  different  to  the  practical 
and  experienced  men  actually  on  the  ground  and 


506  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


familiar  as  he  could  not  be  with  all  the  factors  in  the 
situation.1  “ He  thought,”  wrote  General  Halleck  in 
an  explanatory  letter  sent  to  Meade  two  weeks  after  his 
despatch  of  censure,  “ that  Lee’s  defeat  was  so  certain 
that  he  felt  no  little  impatience  at  his  unexpected  es- 
cape.” Among  military  authorities,  such  a retreat  as 
that  of  Lee  after  Gettysburg  is  hardly  regarded  as  an 
“ escape.”  If  it  were,  then  great  must  be  the  fault  of 
Lee  as  a general  in  allowing  the  defeated  armies  of 
Burnside  and  Hooker  to  “ escape  ” after  the  battles 
of  Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville,  where  their 
repulse  was  much  worse  than  was  Lee’s  at  Gettysburg. 
That  Lincoln’s  first  feelings  of  disappointment  and 
dissatisfaction  with  General  Meade  wTere  greatly  modi- 
fied with  fuller  knowledge  of  the  actual  situation  after 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg  is  shown  by  a remark  made 
by  him  to  Senator  Cameron,  referring  to  Meade : “ Why 
should  we  censure  a man  who  has  done  so  much  for  his 

1 A curious  revelation  of  the  estimate  of  General  Halleck  held  by  at 
least  one  member  of  the  Cabinet,  and  of  the  relations  between  Halleck 
and  the  President,  is  found  in  Welles’s  Diary  in  the  record  of  a rather 
free  conversation  with  the  President  during  the  anxious  period  about 
the  time  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  Says  Mr.  Welles:  “I  stated  I 
had  observed  the  inertness  if  not  the  incapacity  of  the  General-in-Chief, 
and  had  hoped  that  he  [the  President],  who  had  better  and  more 
correct  views,  would  issue  peremptory  orders.  The  President  imme- 
diately softened  his  tone,  and  said,  ‘ Halleck  knows  better  than  I 
what  to  do.  He  is  a military  man,  has  had  a military  education.  I 
brought  him  here  to  give  me  military  advice.  His  views  and  mine 
are  widely  different.  It  is  better  that  I,  who  am  not  a military  man, 
should  defer  to  him,  rather  than  he  to  me.’  This,”  continues  Mr. 
Welles,  “ is  the  President’s  error.  His  own  convictions  and  conclusions 
are  infinitely  superior  to  Halleck’s;  even  in  military  operations,  more 
sensible  and  more  correct  always.  . . . Halleck  has  no  activity;  never 
exhibits  sagacity  or  foresight.”  And  in  another  place  in  the  same 
Diary  we  are  given  this  singular  picture  by  a Cabinet  minister  of  the 
man  who  was  at  that  moment  the  General-in-Chief  of  the  Union 
armies  and  the  military  adviser  of  the  President:  “Halleck  sits  and 
smokes,  and  swears,  and  scratches  his  arm,  but  exhibits  little  military 
capacity  or  intelligence;  is  obfuscated,  muddy,  uncertain,  stupid  aa 
to  what  is  doing  or  to  be  done.” 


EVERY-DAY  LIRE  OF  LINCOLN  507 


country  because  he  did  not  do  a little  more?  ” And  if 
any  debt  of  recognition  or  of  gratitude  yet  remained 
due  from  him,  it  was  more  than  paid  a few  months 
later  in  the  unsurpassed  tribute  at  Gettysburg  to  “ the 
brave  men,  living  and  dead,”  who  gained  the  victory 
on  that  hallowed  field. 

The  improved  condition  of  public  affairs,  and  the 
increasing  cheerfulness  of  the  President,  after  the  vic- 
tories at  Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg,  are  exhibited  in 
a letter  written  by  him  a few  weeks  later  to  friends 
at  Springfield,  Illinois,  who  had  urgently  invited  him 
to  attend  “ a mass-meeting  of  Unconditional  Union 
men  ” at  his  old  home.  In  this  letter  he  took  occasion 
to  declare  his  sentiments  on  various  questions  para- 
mount at  the  time.  Among  these  was  the  subject  of 
a compromise  with  the  South,  against  which  he  argued 
with  great  force  and  feeling.  Again,  he  defended  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation,  a measure  to  which  many 
Union  men  were  still  unreconciled.  He  referred  also 
to  the  arming  of  the  negroes  as  a just  and  wise  ex- 
pedient; finally  concluding  with  these  expressive  and 
felicitous  words : 

The  signs  look  better.  The  Father  of  Waters  again 
goes  unvexed  to  the  sea.  Thanks  to  the  great  North- 
west for  it ; nor  yet  wholly  to  them.  Three  hundred 
miles  up  they  met  New  England,  Empire,  Keystone,  and 
Jersey,  hewing  their  way  right  and  left.  The  sunny 
South,  too,  in  more  colors  than  one,  also  lent  a helping 
hand.  On  the  spot,  their  part  of  the  history  was 
jotted  down  in  black  and  white.  The  job  was  a great 
national  one,  and  let  none  be  slighted  who  bore  an 
honorable  part  in  it.  And  while  those  who  have  cleared 
the  great  river  may  well  be  proud,  even  that  is  not  all. 
It  is  hard  to  say  that  anything  has  been  more  bravely 
and  well  done  than  at  Antietam,  Murfreesboro,  Gettys- 
burg, and  on  many  fields  of  less  note.  Nor  must  Uncle 


508  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Sam’s  web-feet  be  forgotten.  At  all  the  watery  mar- 
gins they  have  been  present,  not  only  on  the  deep  sea, 
the  broad  bay,  and  the  rapid  river,  but  also  up  the 
narrow,  muddy  bayou,  and  wherever  the  ground  was 
a little  damp  they  have  been  and  made  their  tracks. 
Thanks  to  all.  For  the  great  Republic  — for  the  prin- 
ciple it  lives  by  and  keeps  alive — for  man’s  vast  future 
— thanks  to  all.  Peace  does  not  appear  so  distant  as 
it  did.  I hope  it  will  come  soon  and  come  to  stay; 
and  so  come  as  to  be  worth  the  keeping  in  all  future 
time.  It  will  then  have  been  proved  that  among  free- 
men there  can  be  no  successful  appeal  from  the  ballot 
to  the  bullet,  and  that  they  who  take  such  appeal  are 
sure  to  lose  their  case  and  pay  the  cost.  And  there  will 
be  some  black  men  who  can  remember  that,  with  silent 
tongue,  and  clinched  teeth,  and  steady  eye,  and  well- 
poised  bayonet,  they  have  helped  mankind  on  to  this 
great  consummation;  while  I fear  there  will  be  some 
white  ones  unable  to  forget  that  with  malignant  heart 
and  deceitful  speech  they  have  striven  to  hinder  it. 
Still,  let  us  not  be  over-sanguine  of  a speedy  final 
triumph.  Let  us  be  quite  sober.  Let  us  diligently 
apply  the  means,  never  doubting  that  a just  God,  in 
His  own  good  time,  will  give  us  the  rightful  result. 

In  a public  proclamation,  issued  October  3,  the 
President  gives  more  formal  expression  to  his  satis- 
faction and  gratitude,  and  calls  upon  the  loyal  people 
of  the  Union  to  unite  in  a day  of  thanksgiving  for  the 
improved  prospects  of  the  country. 

The  year  that  is  drawing  toward  its  close  has  been 
filled  with  the  blessings  of  fruitful  fields  and  healthful 
skies.  To  these  bounties,  which  are  so  constantly  en- 
joyed that  we  are  prone  to  forget  the  source  from 
which  they  come,  others  have  been  added  which  are  of 
so  extraordinary  a nature  that  they  cannot  fail  to 
penetrate  and  soften  even  the  heart  which  is  habitually 
insensible  to  the  ever-watchful  providence  of  Almighty 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  509 


God.  In  the  midst  of  a civil  war  of  unequalled  magni- 
tude and  severity,  which  has  sometimes  seemed  to  invite 
and  provoke  the  aggressions  of  foreign  states,  peace 
has  been  preserved  with  all  nations,  order  has  been 
maintained,  the  laws  have  been  respected  and  obeyed, 
and  harmony  has  prevailed  everywhere  except  in  the 
theatre  of  military  conflict,  while  that  theatre  has  been 
greatly  contracted  by  the  advancing  armies  and  navies 
of  the  Union.  The  needful  diversion  of  wealth  and 
strength  from  the  fields  of  peaceful  industry  to  the 
national  defense  has  not  arrested  the  plough,  the 
shuttle,  or  the  ship.  The  axe  has  enlarged  the  borders 
of  our  settlements,  and  the  mines,  as  well  of  iron  and 
coal  as  of  the  precious  metals,  have  yielded  even  more 
abundantly  than  heretofore.  Population  has  steadily 
increased,  notwithstanding  the  waste  that  has  been 
made  in  the  camp,  the  siege,  and  the  battle-field;  and 
the  country,  rejoicing  in  the  consciousness  of  aug- 
mented strength  and  vigor,  is  permitted  to  expect  a 
continuance  of  years  with  large  increase  of  freedom. 
No  human  counsel  hath  devised  nor  hath  any  mortal 
hand  worked  out  these  great  things.  They  are  the 
gracious  gifts  of  the  Most  High  God,  who,  while  deal- 
ing with  us  in  anger  for  our  sins,  hath  nevertheless  re- 
membered mercy.  It  has  seemed  to  me  fit  and  proper 
that  they  should  be  solemnly,  reverently,  and  gratefully 
acknowledged,  as  with  one  heart  and  voice,  by  the  whole 
American  people.  I do,  therefore,  invite  my  fellow- 
citizens  in  every  part  of  the  United  States,  and  also 
those  who  are  at  sea,  and  those  who  are  sojourning  in 
foreign  lands,  to  set  apart  and  observe  the  last  Thurs- 
day of  November  next  as  a day  of  thanksgiving  and 
prayer  to  our  beneficent  Father,  who  dwelleth  in  the 
heavens.  And  I recommend  to  them  that,  while  offering 
up  the  ascriptions  justly  due  to  Him  for  such  singular 
deliverances  and  blessings,  they  do  also,  with  humble 
penitence  for  our  national  perverseness  and  disobedi- 
ence, commend  to  His  tender  care  all  those,  who  have 
become  widows,  orphans,  mourners,  or  sufferers  in  the 


510  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


lamentable  civil  strife  in  which  we  are  unavoidably 
engaged,  and  fervently  implore  the  interposition  of  the 
Almighty  Hand  to  heal  the  wounds  of  the  nation,  and 
to  restore  it,  as  soon  as  may  be  consistent  with  the 
divine  purposes,  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  peace,  har- 
mony, tranquility,  and  union. 

The  brightening  prospects  of  the  Union  cause  quickly 
produced  a better  state  of  feeling  at  the  North.  In 
the  fall  elections  of  1863,  every  State  except  New 
Jersey  gave  solid  majorities  on  the  Republican  side, 
thus  strengthening  the  administration  and  giving  the 
President  welcome  assurances  of  popular  approval. 
He  had  awaited  with  special  anxiety  the  returns  from 
Ohio,  where  the  contest  was  fraught  with  peculiar  sig- 
nificance. The  Democrats  had  chosen  for  their  can- 
didate the  notorious  peace-at-any-price  Vallandigham, 
against  whom  the  Republicans  had  placed  John  Brough 
of  Cleveland.  On  the  night  of  the  election,  about  ten 
o’clock,  a message  clicked  on  the  wires  in  the  telegraph 
office  of  the  latter  city,  saying,  “ Where  is  John 
Brough?  A.  Lincoln.”  Brough  was  at  hand,  and 
directly  the  electric  voice  inquired,  “ Brough,  about 
what  is  your  majority  now?  ” Brough  replied,  “ Over 

30.000. ”  Lincoln  requested  Brough  to  remain  at  the 
office  during  the  night.  A little  past  midnight  the 
question  came  again  from  Lincoln,  “ Brough,  what  is 
your  majority  by  this  time?  ” Brough  replied,  “ Over 

50.000. ”  And  the  question  was  thus  repeated  and  an- 
swered several  times,  with  rapidly  increasing  majori- 
ties, till  five  o’clock  in  the  morning,  when  the  question 
came  again,  “Brough,  what  is  your  majority  now?” 
The  latter  was  able  to  respond,  “ Over  100,000.”  As 
soon  as  the  words  could  be  flashed  back  over  the  wire, 
there  came : “ Glory  to  God  in  the  highest.  Ohio  has 
saved  the  Nation.  A.  Lincoln .” 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  511 


The  day  after  the  election  in  Ohio  (October  14, 
1863)  Lincoln  said  to  Secretary  Welles  that  he  had 
felt  more  anxiety  in  regard  to  the  results  than  he  had 
in  1860  when  he  was  chosen  President.  He  could  not 
have  believed  four  years  ago,  he  said,  that  one  genuine 
American  would  or  could  be  induced  to  vote  for  such 
a man  as  Vallandigham.  Yet  he  had  been  made  the 
candidate  of  a large  party,  and  received  a vote  that 
is  a discredit  to  the  country.  Mr.  Welles  adds : “ The 
President  showed  a good  deal  of  emotion  as  he  dwelt 
on  this  subject.” 

After  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  a portion  of  the 
ground  on  which  the  engagement  was  fought  was  pur- 
chased by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  for  a burial-place 
for  the  Union  soldiers  who  were  slain  in  that  bloody 
encounter.  The  tract  included  seventeen  and  a half 
acres  adjoining  the  town  cemetery.  It  was  planned 
to  consecrate  the  ground  with  imposing  ceremonies,  in 
which  the  President,  accompanied  by  his  Cabinet  and 
a large  body  of  the  military,  was  invited  to  assist. 
The  day  appointed  was  the  19th  of  November;  and 
the  chief  orator  selected  was  Massachusetts’  eloquent 
son,  Hon.  Edward  Everett.  Following  him  it  was 
expected  that  the  President  would  add  some  testimonials 
in  honor  of  the  dead. 

Lincoln  and  Everett  were  representatives  of  two 
contrasting  phases  of  American  civilization:  the  one, 
an  outgrowth  of  the  rough  pioneer  life  of  the  West; 
the  other,  the  product  of  the  highest  culture  of  the 
East.  They  had  met  for  the  first  time  on  this  memo- 
rable day.  Everett’s  oration  was  a finished  literary 
production.  Smooth,  euphonious,  and  elegant,  it  was 
delivered  with  the  silvery  tones  and  the  graceful  ges- 
tures of  a trained  and  consummate  speaker.  When  he 
had  finished,  and  the  applause  that  greeted  him  had 
died  away,  the  multitude  called  vociferously  for  an 


512  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


address  from  Lincoln.  With  an  unconscious  air,  the 
President  came  forward  at  the  call,  put  his  spectacles 
on  his  nose,  and  read,  in  a quiet  voice  which  gradually 
warmed  with  feeling,  while  his  careworn  face  became 
radiant  with  the  light  of  genuine  emotion,  the  follow- 
ing brief  address : 

Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought 
forth  on  this  continent  a new  nation,  conceived  in 
liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men 
are  created  equal.  Now  we  are  engaged  in  a great  civil 
war,  testing  whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  con- 
ceived and  so  dedicated,  can  long  endure.  We  are  met 
on  a great  battle-field  of  that  war.  We  have  come  to 
dedicate  a portion  of  that  field  as  a final  resting-place  of 
those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that  nation  might 
live.  It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should 
do  this.  But  in  a larger  sense  we  cannot  dedicate,  we 
cannot  consecrate,  we  cannot  hallow  this  ground.  The 
brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have 
consecrated  it,  far  above  our  poor  power  to  add  or  de- 
tract. The  world  will  little  note  nor  long  remember 
what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did 
here.  It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather,  to  be  dedicated 
here  to  the  unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here 
have  thus  far  so  nobly  carried  on.  It  is  rather  for  us  to 
be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us, 
that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion 
to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure 
of  devotion ; that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  these  dead 
shall  not  have  died  in  vain ; that  this  nation,  under  God, 
shall  have  a new  birth  of  freedom;  and  that  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people,  shall 
not  perish  from  the  earth. 

The  simple  and  sublime  words  of  this  short  address 
shook  the  hearts  of  the  listeners,  and  before  the  first 
sentence  was  ended  they  were  under  the  spell  of  a 
mighty  magician.  They  stood  hushed,  awed,  and 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  513 


melted,  as  the  speaker  enforced  the  solemn  lesson  of 
the  hour,  and  brought  home  to  them,  in  plain  un- 
varnished terms,  the  duty  which  remained  for  them 
to  do  — to  finish  the  work  which  the  dead  around 
them  had  given  their  lives  to  carry  on.  It  was  one 
of  the  briefest  of  the  many  speeches  with  which  Lincoln 
had  swayed  the  impulses  and  opinions  of  crowds  of  his 
fellow-men,  but  it  is  the  one  which  will  be  remembered 
above  all  others  as  hallowed  by  the  truest  and  loftiest 
inspiration.  As  the  final  sentence  ended,  amid  the 
tears  and  sobs  and  cheers  of  the  excited  throng,  the 
President  turned  to  Mr.  Everett,  and,  grasping  his 
hand,  exclaimed  with  sincerity,  “ I congratulate  you 
on  your  success.”  Mr.  Everett  responded  in  the  fervor 
of  his  emotion,  “ Ah,  Mr.  President,  how  gladly  would 
I exchange  all  my  hundred  pages  to  have  been  the 
author  of  your  twenty  lines ! ” 

Of  all  Lincoln’s  public  utterances,  this  is  unquestion- 
ably the  most  remarkable.  The  oration,  brief  and  un- 
pretending as  it  is,  will  remain  a classic  of  the  English 
language.  “ The  Westminster  Review,”  one  of  the  fore- 
most of  the  great  English  quarterlies,  said  of  it : “ It 
has  but  one  equal,  in  that  pronounced  upon  those  who 
fell  in  the  first  year  of  the  Peloponnesian  War ; and 
in  one  respect  it  is  superior  to  that  great  speech.  It 
is  not  only  more  natural,  fuller  of  feeling,  more  touch- 
ing and  pathetic,  but  we  know  with  absolute  certainty 
that  it  was  really  delivered.  Nature  here  takes  prece- 
dence of  art  — even  though  it  be  the  art  of 
Thucydides.” 

“ An  illustration  of  the  difference  between  oratory 
and  inspiration  ” is  Mr.  John  Bigelow’s  happy  char- 
acterization of  the  Gettysburg  address.  “ It  was,” 
he  adds,  “ one  of  the  most  momentous  incidents  in  the 
history  of  the  Civil  War.  It  may  be  doubted  whether 
anything  had  then,  or  has  since,  been  said  of  that 


514  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


national  strife  conceived  upon  a higher  and  wiser 
spiritual  plane.  ...  It  is  perhaps,  on  the  whole,  the 
most  enduring  bit  of  eloquence  that  has  ever  been 
uttered  on  this  continent ; and  yet  one  finds  in  it  none 
of  the  tricks  of  the  forum  or  the  stage,  nor  any  trace 
of  the  learning  of  the  scholar,  nor  the  need  of  it.” 

Major  Harry  T.  Lee,  who  was  himself  a partici- 
pant in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  and  occupied  a seat 
on  the  platform  at  the  dedication,  says  that  the  people 
listened  with  marked  attention  through  the  two  hours 
of  Everett’s  noble  and  scholarly  oration;  but  that 
when  Lincoln  came  forward,  and  in  a voice  burdened 
Avith  emotion  uttered  his  simple  and  touching  eulogy 
on  “ the  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled 
here,”  there  was  scarcely  a dry  eye  in  the  whole  vast 
audience. 

Mr.  John  Russell  Young,  afterwards  U.  S.  Minister 
to  China,  was  present  at  the  Gettysburg  dedication, 
and  says : “ I sat  behind  Mr.  Lincoln  while  Mr.  Everett 
delivered  his  oration.  I remember  the  great  orator 
had  a way  of  raising  and  dropping  his  handkerchief 
as  he  spoke.  He  spoke  for  two  hours,  and  was  very 
impressive,  with  his  white  hair  and  venerable  figure. 
He  was  a great  orator,  but  it  was  like  a bit  of  Greek 
sculpture  — beautiful,  but  cold  as  ice.  It  was  perfect 
art,  but  without  feeling.  The  art  and  beauty  of  it 
captured  your  imagination  and  judgment.  Mr.  Everett 
went  over  the  campaign  with  resonant,  clear,  splendid 
rhetoric.  There  was  not  a word  or  a sentence  or  a 
thought  that  could  be  corrected.  You  felt  that  every 
gesture  had  been  carefully  studied  out  beforehand.  It 
was  like  a great  actor  playing  a great  part.  . . . Mr. 
Lincoln  rose,  walked  to  the  edge  of  the  platform,  took 
out  his  glasses,  and  put  them  on.  He  was  awkward. 
He  bowed  to  the  assemblage  in  his  homely  manner, 
and  took  out  of  his  coat  pocket  a page  of  foolscap. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  515 


In  front  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a photographer  with  his 
camera,  endeavoring  to  take  a picture  of  the  scene. 
We  all  supposed  that  Mr.  Lincoln  would  make  rather 
a long  speech  — a half-hour  at  least.  He  took  the 
single  sheet  of  foolscap,  held  it  almost  to  his  nose, 
and  in  his  high  tenor  voice,  without  the  least  attempt 
at  effect,  delivered  that  most  extraordinary  address 
which  belongs  to  the  classics  of  literature.  The  photog- 
rapher was  bustling  about,  preparing  to  take  the 
President’s  picture  while  he  was  speaking,  but  Mr. 
Lincoln  finished  before  the  photographer  was  ready.” 

It  is  stated  that  when  President  Lincoln  reached  the 
town  of  Gettysburg,  on  his  way  to  attend  the  exercises 
at  the  cemetery,  he  inquired  for  “Old  John  Burns,” 
the  hero  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  who  left  his  farm 
and  fought  with  the  Union  soldiers  upon  that  bloody 
field.  The  veteran  was  sent  for;  and  on  his  arrival 
the  President  showed  him  marked  attention,  taking 
him  by  the  arm  and  walking  with  him  in  the  procession 
through  the  streets  to  the  cemetery. 

Edward  Everett,  who  was  associated  with  Lincoln 
during  these  two  or  three  days,  says  of  the  impression 
the  President  made  on  him:  “ I recognized  in  the  Presi- 
dent a full  measure  of  the  qualities  which  entitle  him 
to  the  personal  respect  of  the  people.  On  the  only 
social  occasion  on  which  I ever  had  the  honor  to  be 
in  his  company,  viz.,  the  Commemoration  at  Gettys- 
burg, he  sat  at  the  table  of  my  friend  David  Willis, 
by  the  side  of  several  distinguished  persons,  foreigners 
and  Americans ; and  in  gentlemanly  appearance,  man- 
ners, and  conversation,  he  was  the  peer  of  any  man 
at  the  table.” 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


Lincoln  and  Grant  — Their  Personal  Relations  — Grant’s  Successes  at 
Chattanooga — Appointed  Lieutenant-general  — Grant’s  First  Visit 
to  Washington  — His  Meeting  with  Lincoln  — Lincoln’s  First  Im- 
pressions of  Grant  — The  First  “General”  Lincoln  Had  Found  — 
“That  Presidential  Grub”  — True  Version  of  the  Whiskey  Anecdote 
— Lincoln  Tells  Grant  the  Story  of  Sykes’s  Dog  — “We’d  Better 
Let  Mr.  Grant  Have  his  Own  Way”  — Grant’s  Estimate  of  Lincoln. 

FROM  the  hour  of  Grant’s  triumph  at  Vicksburg 
to  the  close  of  the  war,  Lincoln  never  withdrew 
his  confidence  from  the  quiet,  persistent,  unpretending 
man  who  led  our  armies  slowly  but  surely  along  the 
path  of  victory.  As  soon  as  the  campaign  at  Vicks- 
burg was  over,  Grant’s  sphere  of  operations  was  en- 
larged by  his  appointment  to  the  command  of  the  mili- 
tary division  of  the  Mississippi.  In  November  follow- 
ing he  fought  the  famous  battles  of  Chattanooga,  in- 
cluding Lookout  Mountain  and  Missionary  Ridge ; and, 
aided  by  his  efficient  corps  commanders,  Sherman, 
Thomas,  and  Hooker,  gained  a succession  of  brilliant 
victories  for  the  Union  cause.  The  wisdom  of  Grant’s 
policy  of  concentration  and  “ fighting  it  out  ” had  now 
become  apparent. 

President  Lincoln  had  watched  closely  the  progress 
of  these  events,  and  had  come  to  recognize  in  Grant 
the  master  spirit  of  the  war,  on  the  Northern  side. 
Accordingly  he  determined  to  give  him  general  com- 
mand of  all  the  Union  armies.  In  December,  1863,  a 
bill  was  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Hon.  E.  B.  Wash- 
burne,  of  Illinois,  and  passed  both  houses  of  Congress, 
creating  the  rank  of  Lieutenant-General  in  the  army. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  517 


President  Lincoln  approved  the  act,  and  immediately 
nominated  Grant  for  the  position.  The  nomination 
was  confirmed;  and  on  the  17th  of  March,  1864,  Grant 
issued  his  first  order  as  Lieutenant-General,  assuming 
command  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  and  an- 
nouncing that  his  headquarters  would  be  in  the  field 
and  until  further  orders  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 
Of  this  army  he  shrewdly  remarked  that  it  seemed  to 
him  it  “ had  never  fought  its  battles  through.”  He 
proposed,  first  of  all,  to  teach  that  army  “ not  to  be 
afraid  of  Lee.”  “ I had  known  him  personally,”  said 
Grant,  “ and  knew  that  he  was  mortal”  With  char- 
acteristic energy  he  formed  a simple  but  comprehensive 
plan  of  operations  both  East  and  West;  sending  Sher- 
man on  his  great  march  to  Atlanta  and  the  sea,  while 
he,  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  pushed  straight 
for  Richmond.  These  operations  were  vigorously 
urged,  and  when  they  were  ended  the  war  was  ended. 
It  was  but  little  more  than  a year  from  the  date  of 
Grant’s  commission  as  Lieutenant-General  till  he  re- 
ceived Lee’s  surrender  at  Appomattox. 

Immediately  upon  Grant’s  appointment  as  Lieuten- 
ant-General, he  was  summoned  to  Washington.  It  was 
his  first  visit  to  the  capital  since  the  war  began,  and 
he  was  a stranger  to  nearly  everyone  from  the  President 
down.  He  arrived  in  the  city  on  the  8th  of  March 
(1864),  taking  quarters  at  Willard’s  Hotel,  where, 
wdien  he  went  in  to  dinner,  none  knew  “ the  quiet,  rather 
stumpy-looking  man,  who  came  in  leading  a little  boy 
— the  boy  who  had  ridden  by  his  father’s  side  through 
all  the  campaign  of  Vicksburg.”  But  soon  it  was 
whispered  about  who  was  in  the  room,  and  there  was 
a loud  call  for  three  cheers  for  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  which 
were  given  with  a will.  In  the  evening  General  Grant 
attended  a reception  at  the  White  House,  passing  in 
with  the  throng  alone  and  unannounced.  The  quick 


518  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


eye  of  the  President  discovered  the  identity  of  the 
modest  soldier,  and  he  was  most  heartily  welcomed. 
“ As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  he  was  present,  the 
pressure  of  the  crowd  to  see  the  hero  of  Vicksburg 
was  so  great  that  he  was  forced  to  shelter  himself 
behind  a sofa.  So  irrepressible  was  the  desire  to  see 
him  that  Secretary  Seward  finally  induced  him  to 
mount  a sofa,  that  this  curiosity  might  be  gratified. 
When  parting  from  the  President,  he  said,  ‘ This  has 
been  rather  the  warmest  campaign  I have  witnessed 
during  the  war.’  ” A graphic  account  of  this  interest- 
ing event  is  given  by  Secretary  Welles,  who  records  in 
his  Diary  (March  9,  1864)  : “ Went  last  evening  to  the 
Presidential  reception.  Quite  a gathering;  very  many 
that  are  not  usually  seen  at  receptions  were  attracted 
thither,  I presume,  from  the  fact  that  General  Grant 
was  expected  to  be  there.  He  came  about  half-past 
nine.  I was  near  the  centre  of  the  reception-room, 
when  a stir  and  buzz  attracted  attention,  and  it  was 
whispered  that  General  Grant  had  arrived.  The  room 
was  not  full,  the  crowd  having  passed  through  to  the 
East  Room.  I saw  some  men  in  uniform  standing  at 
the  entrance,  and  one  of  them,  a short,  brown,  dark- 
haired man,  was  talking  with  the  President.  There 
was  hesitation,  a degree  of  awkwardness,  in  the  General. 
Soon  word  was  passed  around  — 4 Mr.  Seward,  General 
Grant  is  here,’  and  Seward,  who  was  just  behind  me, 
hurried  and  took  the  General  by  the  hand  and  led  him 
to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  near  whom  I was  standing.  The 
crowd  gathered  around  the  circle  rapidly,  and  it  being 
intimated  that  it  would  be  necessary  the  throng  should 
pass  on,  Seward  took  the  General’s  arm  and  went  with 
him  to  the  East  Room.  There  was  clapping  of  hands 
in  the  next  room  as  he  passed  through,  and  all  in  the 
East  Room  joined  in  it  as  he  entered.” 

The  next  day  at  noon  the  General  waited  on  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  519 


President  to  receive  his  commission.  The  interview 
took  place  in  the  Cabinet  room.  There  were  present, 
besides  the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  General  Halleck, 
a member  of  Congress,  two  of  General  Grant’s  staff- 
officers,  his  eldest  son,  Frederick  D.  Grant,  and  the 
President’s  private  secretary.  The  ceremony  was 
simple,  the  President  saying,  as  he  proffered  the 
papers : “ The  nation’s  appreciation  of  what  you  have 
done,  and  its  reliance  upon  you  for  what  remains  to 
be  done  in  the  existing  great  struggle,  are  now  pre- 
sented with  this  commission,  constituting  you  Lieuten- 
ant-General in  the  Army  of  the  United  States.  With 
this  high  honor  devolves  upon  you  also  a correspond- 
ing responsibility.  As  the  country  herein  trusts  you, 
so,  under  God,  it  will  sustain  you.  I scarcely  need  to 
add  that  with  what  I here  speak  for  the  nation  goes 
my  own  hearty  personal  concurrence.”  The  General 
responded  briefly,  promising  to  “ accept  the  commis- 
sion with  gratitude  for  the  high  honor  conferred.  With 
the  aid  of  the  noble  armies  that  have  fought  on  so 
many  fields  for  our  common  country,  it  will  be  my 
earnest  endeavor  not  to  disappoint  your  expectations.  I 
feel  the  full  weight  of  the  responsibilities  now  devolving 
on  me,  and  I know  that  if  they  are  met  it  will  be  due 
to  those  armies,  and  above  all  to  the  favor  of  that 
Providence  which  leads  both  nations  and  men.” 

Before  assuming  personal  command  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  as  he  had  determined  to  do,  General 
Grant  found  it  necessary  to  return  once  more  to  the 
West.  In  his  parting  interview  with  Lincoln,  he  was 
urged  to  remain  to  dinner  the  next  day  and  meet  a 
brilliant  party  whom  the  lady  of  the  White  House  had 
invited  to  do  him  special  honor.  The  General  an- 
swered, apologetically : “ Mrs.  Lincoln  must  excuse  me. 
I must  be  in  Tennessee  at  a given  time.”  “ But  we 
can’t  excuse  you,”  said  the  President.  “ Mrs.  Lincoln’s 


520  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


dinner  without  you  would  be  Hamlet  with  Hamlet  left 
out.”  “ I appreciate  the  honor  Mrs.  Lincoln  would 
do  me,”  said  the  General,  “ but  time  is  very  important 
now.  I ought  to  be  at  the  front,  and  a dinner  to  me 
means  a million  dollars  a day  lost  to  the  country.” 
Lincoln  was  pleased  with  this  answer,  and  said  cheer- 
fully, “ Well,  we  ’ll  have  the  dinner  without  you.” 

After  Lincoln’s  first  meeting  with  General  Grant  he 
was  asked  regarding  his  personal  impressions  of  the 
new  commander.  He  replied,  “ Well,  I hardly  know 
what  to  think  of  him.  He ’s  the  quietest  little  fellow 
you  ever  saw.  He  makes  the  least  fuss  of  any  man 
I ever  knew.  I believe  on  several  occasions  he  has  been 
in  this  room  a minute  or  so  before  I knew  he  was  here. 
It ’s  about  so  all  around.  The  only  evidence  you  have 
that  he ’s  in  any  particular  place  is  that  he  makes 
things  move.”  To  a subsequent  inquiry  as  to  his 
estimate  of  Grant’s  military  capacities,  Lincoln  re- 
sponded, with  emphasis : “ Grant  is  the  first  General 
I ’ve  had.  He  ’ s a General .”  “ How  do  you  mean, 
Mr.  Lincoln?  ” his  visitor  asked.  “ Well,  I ’ll  tell  you 
what  I mean,”  replied  Lincoln.  “ You  know  how  it ’s 
been  Avith  all  the  rest.  As  soon  as  I put  a man  in 
command  of  the  army,  he ’d  come  to  me  with  the  plan 
of  a campaign,  and  about  as  much  as  to  say:  ‘Now 
I don’t  believe  I can  do  it,  but  if  you  say  so  I ’ll  try 
it  on,’  and  so  put  the  responsibility  of  success  or  failure 
on  me.  They  all  wanted  me  to  be  the  General.  Now, 
it  is  n’t  so  AA'ith  Grant.  He  has  n’t  told  me  what  his 
plans  are.  I don’t  know  and  I don’t  want  to  know. 
I am  glad  to  find  a man  who  can  go  ahead  without 
me.  When  any  of  the  rest  set  out  on  a campaign 
they ’d  look  over  matters  and  pick  out  some  one  thing 
they  were  short  of  and  they  knew  I could  n’t  give  them, 
and  tell  me  they  could  n’t  hope  to  win  unless  they  had 
it  — and  it  was  most  generally  cavalry.  Now  when 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  521 


Grant  took  hold  I was  waiting  to  see  what  his  pet  im- 
possibility would  be,  and  I reckoned  it  would  be  cavalry, 
of  course,  for  we  had  n’t  horses  enough  to  mount  what 
men  we  had.  There  were  fifteen  thousand  men,  or 
thereabouts,  up  near  Harper’s  Ferry,  and  no  horses 
to  put  them  on.  Well,  the  other  day  Grant  sent  to 
me  about  these  very  men,  just  as  I expected;  but  what 
he  wanted  to  know  was  whether  he  could  make  infantry 
of  ’em  or  disband  ’em.  He  does  n’t  ask  impossibilities 
of  me,  and  he ’s  the  first  General  I ’ve  had  that  did  n’t.” 
On  another  occasion  Lincoln  said  of  Grant : “ The 
great  thing  about  him  is  his  cool  persistency  of  pur- 
pose. He  is  not  easily  excited,  and  he  has  the  grip 
of  a bulldog.  When  he  once  gets  his  teeth  in,  nothing 
can  shake  him  off.” 

The  President’s  satisfaction  with  the  new  commander 
was  speedily  communicated  to  him  in  a characteristic- 
ally frank  manner,  in  a letter  dated  April  30,  1861. 

Lieutenant-General  Grant  : — 

Not  expecting  to  see  you  before  the  Spring 
campaign  opens,  I wish  to  express  in  this  way  my 
entire  satisfaction  with  what  you  have  done  up  to 
this  time,  so  far  as  I understand  it.  The  particulars 
of  your  plan  I neither  know  nor  seek  to  know. 
You  are  vigilant  and  self-reliant;  and,  pleased  with 
this,  I wish  not  to  obtrude  any  restraints  or  con- 
straints upon  you.  While  I am  very  anxious  that 
any  great  disaster  or  capture  of  our  men  in  great 
numbers  shall  be  avoided,  I know  that  these  points  are 
less  likely  to  escape  your  attention  than  they  would  be 
mine.  If  there  be  anything  wanting  which  is  in  my 
power  to  give,  do  not  fail  to  let  me  know  it.  And  now, 
with  a brave  army  and  a just  cause,  may  God  sustain 
you.  Yours  very  truly,  A.  Lincoln. 

General  Grant  himself  wrote,  on  this  point : “ In  my 
first  interview  with  Mr.  Lincoln  alone,  he  stated  to 


522  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 

me  that  he  had  never  professed  to  be  a military  man, 
or  to  know  how  campaigns  should  be  conducted,  and 
never  wanted  to  interfere  in  them ; but  that  procras- 
tination on  the  part  of  commanders,  and  the  pressure 
of  the  people  at  the  North  and  Congress,  which  was 
always  with  him,  forced  him  into  issuing  his  series  of 
‘ Military  Orders  ’ — one,  two,  three,  etc.  He  did  not 
know  but  they  were  all  wrong,  and  did  know  that  some 
of  them  were.  All  he  wanted  or  had  ever  wanted  was 
someone  who  would  take  the  responsibility  and  act,  and 
call  on  him  for  all  the  assistance  needed,  pledging  him- 
self to  use  all  the  power  of  the  government  in  rendering 
such  assistance.  . . . The  President  told  me  he  did  not 
want  to  know  what  I proposed  to  do.  But  he  sub- 
mitted a plan  of  campaign  of  his  own  which  he  wanted 
me  to  hear  and  then  do  as  I pleased  about.  He  brought 
out  a map  of  Virginia  on  which  he  had  evidently 
marked  every  position  occupied  by  the  Federal  and 
Confederate  armies  up  to  that  time.  He  pointed  out 
on  the  map  two  streams  which  empty  into  the  Potomac, 
and  suggested  that  the  army  might  be  moved  on  boats 
and  landed  between  the  mouths  of  these  streams.  We 
would  then  have  the  Potomac  to  bring  our  supplies, 
and  the  tributaries  would  protect  our  flanks  while 
we  moved  out.  I listened  respectfully,  but  did  not 
suggest  that  the  same  streams  would  protect  Lee’s 
flanks  while  he  was  shutting  us  up.” 

General  Horace  Porter,  for  some  time  Grant’s  chief 
of  staff,  says : “ The  nearest  Mr.  Lincoln  ever  came 
to  giving  General  Grant  an  order  for  the  movement 
of  troops  was  during  Early’s  raid  upon  Washington. 
On  July  10,  1864,  he  telegraphed  a long  despatch  from 
Washington,  which  contained  the  following  language: 

‘ What  I think  is  that  you  should  provide  to  retain 
your  hold  where  you  are,  certainly,  and  bring  the 
rest  with  you  personally,  and  make  a vigorous  effort 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  523 


to  defeat  the  enemy’s  force  in  this  vicinity.  I think 
there  is  really  a fair  chance  to  do  this,  if  the  move- 
ment is  prompt.  This  is  what  I think  — given  upon 
your  suggestion,  — and  is  not  an  order.’  Grant  re- 
plied that  on  reflection  he  thought  it  would  have  a bad 
effect  for  him  to  leave  City  Point,  then  his  head- 
quarters, in  front  of  Richmond  and  Petersburg;  and 
the  President  was  satisfied  with  the  dispositions  which 
Grant  made  for  the  repulse  of  Early  without  taking 
command  against  him  in  person.” 

A curious  incident  revealing  the  intense  interest  with 
which  Lincoln  w'atched  the  career  of  Grant  is  related 
by  Mr.  J.  Russell  Jones,  an  old  and  trusted  friend  of 
the  President,  who  joined  the  army  at  Vicksburg  in 
time  to  witness  its  final  triumph.  Soon  after  Mr. 
Jones’s  return  to  Chicago,  the  President  summoned  him 
to  Washington.  With  eager  haste,  after  the  first  salu- 
tations vTere  over,  Lincoln  declared  the  object  for 
which  he  had  secured  the  interview : “ ‘ I have  sent  for 
you,  Mr.  Jones,  to  know  if  that  man  Grant  wants  to 
be  President.’  Mr.  Jones,  although  somewhat  aston- 
ished at  the  question  and  the  circumstances  under  which 
it  was  asked,  replied  at  once,  ‘ No,  Mr.  President.’ 
‘Are  you  sure?’  queried  the  latter.  ‘ Yes,’  said  Mr. 
Jones,  ‘perfectly  sure.  I have  just  come  from  Vicks- 
burg. I have  seen  General  Grant  frequently,  and 
talked  fully  and  freely  with  him  about  that  and  every 
other  question ; and  I know  he  has  no  political  aspira- 
tions whatever,  and  certainly  none  for  the  Presidency. 
His  only  desire  is  to  see  you  re-elected  and  to  do  what 
he  can  under  your  orders  to  put  down  the  rebellion 
and  restore  peace  to  the  country.’  ‘Ah,  Mr.  Jones,’ 
said  Lincoln,  ‘ you  have  lifted  a great  weight  off  my 
mind,  and  done  me  an  immense  amount  of  good;  for 
I tell  you,  my  friend,  no  man  knows  how  deeply  that 
Presidential  grub  gnaws  till  he  has  had  it  himself.’  ” 


524  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


We  cannot  believe  that  Lincoln  cherished  any  feeling 
of  jealousy  of  the  rising  commander,  or  desired  to 
interfere  with  whatever  political  ambition  he  might 
nourish.  It  was  rather  his  desire  to  be  assured  of  the 
single-hearted  purpose  of  a military  leader  whom  he 
had  trusted  and  to  whom  he  wished  to  confide  still 
more  important  services  in  the  conduct  of  the  war. 

It  may  be  remembered  that  early  in  the  war  an  an- 
ecdote went  the  rounds  of  the  press  to  the  effect  that, 
in  reply  to  a complaint  that  Grant  had  been  guilty 
of  drunkenness  in  the  campaigns  in  the  West,  Lincoln 
remarked  that  he  would  “ like  to  find  out  what  kind 
of  liquor  Grant  drank,”  so  that  he  might  “ send  some 
of  it  to  the  other  Generals.”  The  true  version  of  that 
characteristic  anecdote  is  this,  as  given  by  the  late 
Judge  T.  Lyle  Dickey,  who  was  a Judge  of  the  Illinois 
Supreme  Court  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  at  the 
time  of  Grant’s  famous  Vicksburg  campaign  was  on 
the  General’s  staff  as  chief  of  cavalry.  Judge  (then 
Colonel)  Dickey  had  been  sent  to  Washington  with 
private  despatches  for  the  President  and  the  Secretary 
of  War.  Lincoln  and  Dickey  had  been  intimate  friends 
for  years,  and  during  the  latter’s  visit  to  the  former 
on  that  occasion,  Dickey  remarked,  “ I hear  that  some 
one  has  been  trying  to  poison  you  against  Grant  by 
reporting  that  he  gets  drunk.  I wish  to  assure  you, 
Mr.  President,  that  there  is  not  a scintilla  of  truth 
in  the  report.”  “ Oh,  Colonel,”  replied  the  President, 
“ we  get  all  sorts  of  reports  here,  but  I ’ll  say  this  to 
you : that  if  those  accusing  General  Grant  of  getting 
drunk  will  tell  me  where  he  gets  his  whiskey,  I will  get 
a lot  of  it  and  send  it  around  to  some  of  the  other 
Generals,  who  are  badly  in  need  of  something  of  the 
kind.” 

After  Lincoln  and  General  Grant  had  become  per- 
sonally intimate,  they  had  many  enjoyable  conversa- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  525 


tions  and  exchanges  of  anecdotes.  Lincoln  especially 
enjoyed  telling  the  General  of  the  various  persons  who 
had  come  to  him  with  complaints  and  criticisms  about 
the  Vicksburg  campaign.  “ After  the  place  had  ac- 
tually surrendered,”  said  the  President,  “ I thought  it 
was  about  time  to  shut  down  on  this  sort  of  thing.  So 
one  day,  when  a delegation  came  to  see  me,  and  had 
spent  half  an  hour  trying  to  show  me  the  fatal  mis- 
take you  had  made  in  paroling  Pemberton’s  army,  and 
insisting  that  the  rebels  would  violate  their  paroles  and 
in  less  than  a month  confront  you  again  in  the  ranks 
and  have  to  be  whipped  all  over  again,  I thought  I 
could  get  rid  of  them  best  by  telling  them  a story 
about  Sykes’s  dog.  ‘ Have  you  ever  heard  about 
Sykes’s  yellow  dog?  ’ said  I to  the  spokesman  of  the 
delegation.  He  said  he  hadn’t.  ‘Well,  I must  tell 
you  about  him,’  said  I.  ‘ Sykes  had  a yellow  dog  he 
set  great  store  by,  but  there  were  a lot  of  small  boys 
around  the  village,  and  that ’s  always  a bad  thing  for 
dogs,  you  know.  These  boys  didn’t  share  Sykes’s 
views,  and  they  were  not  disposed  to  let  the  dog  have 
a ‘fair  show.  Even  Sykes  had  to  admit  that  the  dog 
was  getting  unpopular ; in  fact,  it  was  soon  seen  that 
a prejudice  was  growing  up  against  that  dog  that 
threatened  to  wreck  all  his  future  prospects  in  life. 
The  boys,  after  meditating  how  they  could  get  the  best 
of  him,  finally  fixed  up  a cartridge  with  a long  fuse, 
put  the  cartridge  in  a piece  of  meat,  dropped  the  meat 
in  the  road  in  front  of  Sykes’s  door,  and  then  perched 
themselves  on  a fence  a good  distance  off  with  the  end 
of  the  fuse  in  their  hands.  Then  they  whistled  for 
the  dog.  When  he  came  out  he  scented  the  bait,  and 
bolted  the  meat,  cartridge  and  all.  The  boys  touched 
off  the  fuse  with  a cigar,  and  in  about  a second  a re- 
port came  from  that  dog  that  sounded  like  a small 
clap  of  thunder.  Sykes  came  bouncing  out  of  the 


526  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


house,  and  yelled : “ What ’s  up  ! Anything  busted  ? ” 
There  was  no  reply,  except  a snicker  from  the  small 
boys  roosting  on  the  fence;  but  as  Sykes  looked  up 
he  saw  the  whole  air  filled  with  pieces  of  yellow  dog. 
He  picked  up  the  biggest  piece  he  could  find  — a por- 
tion of  the  back,  with  a part  of  the  tail  still  hanging 
to  it,  and,  after  turning  it  around  and  looking  it  all 
over,  he  said,  “ Well,  I guess  he  ’ll  never  be  much 
account  again  — as  a dog.”  And  I guess  Pemberton’s 
forces  will  never  be  much  account  again  — as  an  army.’’ 
The  delegation  began  looking  around  for  their  hats 
before  I had  quite  got  to  the  end  of  the  story,  and 
I was  never  bothered  any  more  about  superseding  the 
commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee.” 

When  General  Grant  was  ready  to  begin  active 
operations  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  he  sent 
forward  all  available  men  from  Washington.  Secre- 
tary Stanton,  anxious  about  the  safety  of  the  city, 
said  to  Grant  one  day : “ General,  I suppose  you  have 
left  us  enough  men  to  strongly  garrison  the  forts?” 
“ No,  I can’t  do  that,”  was  Grant’s  quiet  answer. 
“Why  not?  Why  not?”  repeated  the  Secretary  ner- 
vously. “ Because  I have  already  sent  the  men  to  the 
front.”  Said  the  Secretary,  still  more  nervously : “ That 
won’t  do.  It ’s  contrary  to  my  plans.  I cannot  allow 
it.  I will  order  the  men  back.”  To  this  Grant  returned 
with  quiet  determination : “ I shall  need  the  men  there, 
and  you  cannot  order  them  back.”  “ Why  not?  Why 
not?”  cried  the  Secretary.  “I  believe  that  I rank 
the  Secretary  in  this  matter,”  remarked  Grant.  “ Very 
well,  we  will  see  the  President  about  that,”  responded 
the  Secretary  sharply.  “ I will  have  to  take  you  to 
the  President.”  “ That  is  right.  The  President  ranks 
us  both.”  So  they  went  to  the  President;  and  the 
Secretary,  turning  to  General  Grant,  said,  “ Now, 
General,  state  your  case.”  But  the  General  calmly  re- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  527 


plied,  “ I have  no  case  to  state.  I am  satisfied  as  it 

is. ”  This  threw  the  burden  of  statement  on  Secretary 
Stanton,  and  was  excellent  strategy.  Meanwhile,  Gen- 
eral Grant  had  the  men.  When  the  Secretary  had 
concluded,  Lincoln  crossed  his  legs,  rested  his  elbow 
on  his  knee,  and  said  in  his  quaint  way  and  with  a 
twinkle  in  his  eye:  “Now,  Mr.  Secretary,  you  know 
we  have  been  trying  to  manage  this  army  for  nearly 
three  years,  and  you  know  we  have  n’t  done  much  with 

it.  We  sent  over  the  mountains  and  brought  Mr. 
Grant,  as  Mrs.  Grant  calls  him,  to  manage  it  for  us ; 
and  now  I guess  we ’d  better  let  Mr.  Grant  have  his 
own  way.”  And  Mr.  Grant  had  it. 

The  favorable  opinion  which  Lincoln  held  of  Grant 
was  strongly  reciprocated.  A short  time  before  the 
former’s  death,  Grant  said:  “ I regard  Lincoln  as  one 
of  the  greatest  of  men.  He  is  unquestionably  the 
greatest  man  I have  ever  encountered.  The  more  I 
see  of  him  and  exchange  views  with  him,  the  more  he 
impresses  me.  I admire  his  courage,  and  respect  the 
firmness  he  always  displays.  Many  think  from  the 
gentleness  of  his  character  that  he  has  a yielding  na- 
ture; but  while  he  has  the  courage  to  change  his  mind 
when  convinced  that  he  is  wrong,  he  has  all  the  te- 
nacity of  purpose  which  could  be  desired  in  a great 
statesman.  His  quickness  of  perception  often  aston- 
ishes me.  Long  before  the  statement  of  a complicated 
question  is  finished,  his  mind  will  grasp  the  main  points, 
and  he  will  seem  to  comprehend  the  whole  subject 
better  than  the  person  who  is  stating  it.  He  will  take 
rank  in  history  alongside  of  Washington.” 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


Lincoln’s  Second  Presidential  Term  — His  Attitude  toward  it  — Rival 
Candidates  for  the  Nomination  — Chase’s  Achillean  Wrath  — Har- 
mony Restored  — The  Baltimore  Convention  — Decision  “not  to 
Swap  Horses  while  Crossing  a Stream”  — ■ The  Summer  of  1864  — 
Washington  again  Threatened  — Lincoln  under  Fire  — Unpopular 
Measures  — The  President’s  Perplexities  and  Trials  — The  Famous 
Letter  “To  Whom  It  May  Concern”  — Little  Expectation  of  Re- 
election  — Dangers  of  Assassination  — A Thrilling  Experience  — 
Lincoln’s  Forced  Serenity  — “The  Saddest  Man  in  the  World”  — 
A Break  in  the  Clouds  — Lincoln  Vindicated  by  Re-election  — 
Cheered  and  Reassured  — More  Trouble  with  Chase  — Lincoln’s 
Final  Disposal  of  him  — The  President’s  Fourth  Annual  Message 
— His  Position  toward  the  Rebellion  and  Slavery  Reaffirmed  — 
Colored  Folks’  Reception  at  the  White  House  — Passage  of  the 
Amendment  Prohibiting  Slavery  — Lincoln  and  the  Southern  Peace 
Commissioners  — The  Meeting  in  Hampton  Roads  — Lincoln’s 
Impression  of  A.  H.  Stephens  — The  Second  Inauguration  — Sec- 
ond Inaugural  Address  — “With  Malice  toward  None,  with  Char- 
ity for  All”  — An  Auspicious  Omen. 


HE  year  1864  witnessed  another  Presidential 


B election,  and  one  which  was  attended  by  the  most 
novel  and  extraordinary  circumstances.  It  was  held 
while  a considerable  portion  of  the  people  were  engaged 
in  armed  rebellion  against  the  authority  of  the  National 
Government ; and  it  was  not  participated  in  by  the 
voters  of  several  entire  States.  Aside  from  these  unique 
features,  it  marked  a most  critical  epoch  in  the  history 
of  the  country,  and  in  that  of  Abraham  Lincoln  as 
well.  The  policy  and  acts  of  the  administration,  even 
the  question  of  the  further  prosecution  of  the  war,  were 
to  be  submitted  to  the  sovereign  tribunal  of  the  people ; 
and  with  their  verdict  would  be  recorded  also  the  popu- 
lar measure  of  approval  or  disapproval  of  President 
Lincoln.  Those  who  knew  him  best  during  his  first 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  529 


official  term  pronounce  him  singularly  free  from  plans 
and  calculations  regarding  his  own  political  future. 
He  was  too  absorbed  in  public  cares  and  duties,  too 
nearly  crushed  by  the  great  burdens  resting  upon  him, 
to  give  thought  or  attention  to  questions  of  personal 
ambition.  It  had  never  been  his  aim,  ^hiring  his  Presi- 
dential life,  to  look  far  ahead.  He  was  content  to  deal 
wisely  and  soberly  with  important  questions  as  they 
arose  from  day  to  day  and  hour  to  hour ; to  adapt 
himself  and  his  actions  to  the  exigencies  of  the  present, 
and  in  that  way  to  earn  security  for  the  future.  He 
himself  said,  using  a forcible  and  apt  illustration  bor- 
rowed from  his  early  life:  “ The  pilots  on  our  Western 
rivers  steer  from  point  to  point,  as  they  call  it  — set- 
ting the  course  of  the  boat  no  farther  than  they  can  see ; 
and  that  is  all  I propose  to  do  in  the  great  problems 
that  are  set  before  me.” 

Such  a policy  as  that  outlined  by  Lincoln,  embraced 
in  his  homely  and  characteristic  phrase  of  “ pegging 
away,”  caused  him  to  be  greatly  misunderstood  and 
even  distrusted  in  some  quarters.  As  the  time  for  the 
new  election  drew  near,  there  was  very  pronounced  dis- 
satisfaction with  him,  particularly  in  New  England. 
It  was  said  of  him,  among  other  things,  that  he 
“ lacked  the  essential  qualities  of  a leader.”  Mr.  Henry 
Greenleaf  Pearson,  the  biographer  of  Governor  Andrew 
of  Massachusetts,  illuminates  this  point  in  a few  in- 
structive sentences.  “ To  comprehend  this  objection, 
which  to  us  seems  so  astonishingly  wide  of  the  mark,” 
says  Mr.  Pearson,  “ we  must  realize  that  whenever  a 
New  Englander  of  that  generation  uttered  the  word 
‘ leader  ’ his  mind’s  eye  was  filled  with  the  image  of 
Daniel  Webster.  Even  those  who  called  the  fallen 
statesman  4 Ichabod  ’ could  not  forget  his  commanding 
presence,  his  lofty  tone  about  affairs  of  state,  his 
sonorous  professions  of  an  ideal,  his  whole  ex  cathedra 


530  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


attitude.  All  these  characteristics  supplied  the  aristo- 
cratic connotation  of  the  word  ‘ leader.’  Of  the  broad 
democratic  meaning  of  the  term,  the  world  had  as  yet 
received  no  demonstration.  That  Lincoln  was  in  very 
truth  the  ‘ new  birth  of  a new  soil,’  Lowell,  with  the 
advantage  of  literary  detachment,  was  one  of  the  first 
to  discover  and  proclaim,  both  in  his  political  essays 
and  in  the  splendid  stanzas  of  the  ‘ Commemoration 
Ode.’  ” 

While  Lincoln  seemingly  gave  little  heed  to  the 
question  of  a second  Presidential  term,  it  must  not  be 
inferred  that  he  was  indifferent  regarding  it.  His 
nature  was  one  of  those  strong  ones  which,  though 
desiring  approbation,  are  yet  able  to  live  without  it. 
His  whole  life  had  been  a schooling  in  self-reliance 
and  independence,  and  the  last  three  years  especially 
had  rendered  him  an  adept  in  that  stern  philosophy. 
But  he  was  thoroughly  human,  and  deep  down  in  his 
nature  was  a craving  for  human  sympathy  and  sup- 
port. Knowing  that  he  had  done  his  best  and  was 
entitled  to  the  full  approval  of  his  countrymen,  he  no 
doubt  felt  that  it  would  be  a pleasant  thing  to  receive 
that  approval  by  being  called  to  serve  them  for  an- 
other term.  To  one  friend  he  remarked,  using  his  old 
figure  of  “ the  people’s  attorney,”  “ If  the  people  think 
I have  managed  their  case  for  them  well  enough  to  trust 
me  to  carry  it  up  to  the  next  term,  I am  sure  I shall 
be  glad  to  take  it.”  He  evidently  dreaded  the  rebuke 
that  would  be  implied  in  a failure  to  be  renominated ; 
yet  it  seemed  unbecoming  to  him,  in  the  critical  condi- 
tion of  the  country,  to  make  any  personal  effort  to 
that  end.  To  these  considerations  were  added  his  ex- 
treme weariness  and  longing  for  release  from  his  op- 
pressive burdens.  He  was  also,  as  Mr.  Welles  records 
in  his  Diary,  “ greatly  importuned  and  pressed  by 
cunning  intrigues.” 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  531 


From  these  various  complications,  Lincoln’s  embar- 
rassment and  perplexity  as  the  time  for  holding  the 
Republican  Convention  drew  near  were  extreme.  A 
journalistic  friend  (Mr.  J.  M.  Winchell),  who  had  a 
lengthy  conversation  with  him  on  the  subject,  gives 
what  is  no  doubt  a correct  idea  of  his  state  of  mind  at 
that  period.  “ Mr.  Lincoln  received  me,”  says  Mr. 
Winchell,  “kindly  and  courteously;  but  his  manner 
was  quite  changed.  It  was  not  now  the  country  about 
which  his  anxiety  prevailed,  but  himself.  There  was 
an  embarrassment  about  him  which  he  could  not  quite 
conceal.  I thought  it  proper  to  state  in  the  outset 
that  I wished  simply  to  know  whatever  he  was  free  to 
tell  me  in  regard  to  his  own  willingness  or  unwilling- 
ness to  accept  a renomination.  The  reply  was  a mono- 
logue of  an  hour’s  duration,  and  one  that  wholly  ab- 
sorbed me,  as  it  seemed  to  absorb  himself.  He  remained 
seated  nearly  all  the  time.  He  was  restless,  often 
changing  position,  and  occasionally,  in  some  intense 
moment,  wheeling  his  body  around  in  his  chair  and 
throwing  a leg  over  the  arm.  This  was  the  only  gro- 
tesque thing  I recollect  about  him;  his  voice  and  man- 
ner were  very  earnest,  and  he  uttered  no  jokes  and  told 
no  anecdotes.  He  began  by  saying  that  as  yet  he  was 
not  a candidate  for  renomination.  He  distinctly  denied 
that  he  was  a party  to  any  effort  to  that  end,  not- 
withstanding I knew  that  there  were  movements  in  his 
favor  in  all  parts  of  the  Northern  States.  These 
movements  were,  of  course,  without  his  prompting,  as 
he  positively  assured  me  that  with  one  or  two  excep- 
tions he  had  scarcely  conversed  on  the  subject  with 
his  most  intimate  friends.  He  was  not  quite  sure 
whether  he  desired  a renomination.  Such  had  been  the 
responsibility  of  the  office  — so  oppressive  had  he 
found  its  cares,  so  terrible  its  perplexities  — that  he 
felt  as  though  the  moment  when  he  could  relinquish 


532  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


the  burden  and  retire  to  private  life  would  be  the 
sweetest  he  could  possibly  experience.  But,  he  said, 
he  would  not  deny  that  a re-election  would  also  have 
its  gratification  to  his  feelings.  He  did  not  seek  it, 
nor  would  he  do  so ; he  did  not  desire  it  for  any 
ambitious  or  selfish  purpose ; but  after  the  crisis  the 
country  was  passing  through  under  his  Presidency,  and 
the  efforts  he  had  made  conscientiously  to  discharge 
the  duties  imposed  upon  him,  it  would  be  a very  sweet 
satisfaction  to  him  to  know  that  he  had  secured  the 
approval  of  his  fellow  citizens  and  earned  the  highest 
testimonial  of  confidence  they  could  bestow.  J.  This  was 
the  gist  of  the  hour’s  monologue ; and  I believe  he 
spoke  sincerely.  His  voice,  his  manner,  gave  his  modest 
and  sensible  words  a power  of  conviction.  He  seldom 
looked  me  in  the  face  while  he  was  talking;  he  seemed 
almost  to  be  gazing  into  the  future.  I am  sure  it  was 
not  a pleasant  thing  for  him  to  seem  to  be  speaking 
in  his  own  behalf.  For  himself,  he  affirmed  that  he 
should  make  no  promises  of  office  to  anyone  as  an 
inducement  for  support.  If  nominated  and  elected, 
he  should  be  grateful  to  his  friends ; but  the  interests 
of  the  country  must  always  be  first  considered.” 

The  principal  candidates  talked  of  as  successors  to 
Lincoln  were  Secretary  Chase,  General  Fremont,  and 
General  Grant.  Of  the  latter,  Lincoln  said,  with  char- 
acteristic frankness  and  generosity:  “If  he  could  be 
more  useful  as  President  in  putting  down  the  rebellion, 
I would  be  content.  He  is  pledged  to  our  policy  of 
emancipation  and  the  employment  of  negro  soldiers ; 
and  if  this  policy  is  carried  out,  it  will  not  make  much 
difference  who  is  President.”  But  General  Grant’s 
good  sense  prevailed  over  his  injudicious  advisers,  and 
he  promptly  refused  to  allow  his  name  to  be  presented 
to  the  convention. 

The  most  formidable  candidate  for  the  Republican 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  533 


nomination  was  Secretary  Chase.  The  relations  be- 
tween him  and  the  President  had  not  latterly  been  very 
harmonious ; and  the  breach  was  greatly  widened  by  a 
bitter  personal  assault  on  Mr.  Chase  by  General  F.  P. 
Blair,  a newly  elected  Congressman  from  Missouri, 
made  on  the  floor  of  the  House,  about  the  middle  of 
April,  under  circumstances  which  led  Mr.  Chase  to 
believe  that  the  President  inspired,  or  at  least  ap- 
proved, the  attack.  Mr.  Chase  was  very  angry,  and 
an  open  rupture  between  his  friends  and  those  of  the 
President  was  narrowly  averted.  Mr.  Riddle,  Con- 
gressman from  Mr.  Chase’s  State  (Ohio),  relates  that 
on  the  evening  after  General  Blair’s  offensive  speech 
he  was  to  accompany  Mr.  Chase  on  a visit  to  Balti- 
more. “ I was  shown,”  says  Mr.  Riddle,  “ to  the 
Secretary’s  private  car,  where  I found  him  alone  and 
in  a frenzy  of  rage.  A copy  of  Blair’s  speech  had 
been  shown  him  at  the  station,  and  I was  the  sole  wit- 
ness of  his  Achillean  wrath.  He  threatened  to  leave 
the  train  at  once  and  send  the  President  his  resignation  ; 
but  was  persuaded  to  go  on  to  Baltimore.  He  wished 
to  forward  his  resignation  from  there,  but  concluded  to 
withhold  it  till  his  return  to  Washington  the  next  day. 
At  Baltimore,”  continues  Mr.  Riddle,  “ I excused  my- 
self, and  took  the  return  train  for  Washington.  I 
did  not  overestimate  the  danger  to  the  Union  cause. 
It  would  be  a fatal  error  to  defeat  Mr.  Lincoln  at  the 
Baltimore  Convention;  yet  how  could  he  succeed,  with 
the  angry  resignation  of  Mr.  Chase,  and  the  defection 
of  his  friends  — the  powerful  and  aggressive  radicals? 
Reaching  Washington,  I went  to  the  White  House 
direct.  I knew  the  President  could  not  have  been  a 
party  to  Blair’s  assault,  and  I wanted  his  personal 
assurances  to  communicate  to  Mr.  Chase  at  the  earliest 
moment.  I was  accompanied  by  Judge  Spaulding,  an 
eminent  member  of  the  House,  fully  sharing  Mr. 


531  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Chase’s  confidence,  and  somewhat  cool  toward  the 
President.  We  found  Mr.  Lincoln  drawn  up  behind 
his  table,  with  papers  before  him,  quite  grim,  evidently 
prepared  for  the  battle  which  he  supposed  awaited 
him.  Without  taking  a seat,  hat  in  hand,  I stated 
frankly,  not  without  emotion,  the  condition  of  affairs, 
— the  public  danger,  my  entire  confidence  in  him,  my 
sole  purpose  there,  the  reason  of  Judge  Spaulding’s 
presence,  and  that  we  were  there  in  no  way  as  repre- 
sentatives of  Mr.  Chase.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  visibly 
affected.  The  tones  of  confidence,  sympathy,  personal 
regard,  were  strangers  to  him  at  that  time.  Softening, 
almost  melting,  he  came  round  to  us,  shook  our  hands 
again  and  again,  returned  to  his  place,  and  standing 
there,  took  up  and  opened  out,  from  their  remote 
origin,  the  whole  web  of  matters  connected  with  the 
present  complication.  He  spoke  an  hour  — calm,  clear, 
direct,  simple.  He  reprehended  Blair  severely,  and 
stated  that  he  had  no  knowledge  of  his  speech  until 
after  Blair  left  Washington.  We  were  permitted  to 
communicate  this  to  Mr.  Chase.  He  was  satisfied  with 
the  President’s  explanation,  and  at  the  Baltimore  Con- 
vention my  large  acquaintance  enabled  me  to  open  the 
way  for  Governor  Dennison  of  Ohio  to  become  its  pre- 
siding officer.  All  recognized  the  good  effect  of  the 
organization  of  that  body  by  the  friends  of  Mr.  Chase.” 

The  National  Republican  Convention  which  met  at 
Baltimore  on  the  8th  of  June  adopted  resolutions 
heartily  approving  the  course  of  the  administration 
and  especially  the  policy  of  emancipation,  and  com- 
pleted its  good  work  by  nominating  Abraham  Lincoln 
as  its  candidate  for  President  for  another  term. 
Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  was  nominated  for  Vice- 
President.  That  Lincoln  was  gratified  at  this  proof 
of  confidence  and  esteem  there  can  be  no  doubt.  In  his 
acceptance  of  the  nomination,  he  said,  with  the  most 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  535 


delicate  modesty : “ I view  this  call  to  a second  term 
as  in  no  wise  more  flattering  to  myself  than  as  an 
expression  of  the  public  judgment  that  I may  better 
finish  a difficult  work  than  could  one  less  severely 
schooled  to  the  task.”  And  with  characteristic  humor, 
he  thanked  a visiting  delegation  for  their  good  opinion 
of  him,  saying,  “ I have  not  permitted  myself  to  con- 
clude that  I am  the  best  man  in  the  country;  but  I 
am  reminded  of  the  old  Dutch  farmer  who  remarked 
to  a companion  that  it  was  not  best  to  swap  horses 
while  crossing  a stream .” 

In  July,  1864,  great  excitement  and  alarm  were  occa- 
sioned in  Washington  by  a body  of  Confederate  cavalry 
under  General  Early,  who  actually  attacked  the  forti- 
fications of  the  city,  cut  off  its  railroad  communication 
with  the  North,  and  ravaged  the  country  about  with 
fire  and  sword.  For  several  days  skirmishing  was  go- 
ing on  between  the  raiders  and  the  troops  in  our 
fortifications.  The  fact  that  the  President  himself 
was  under  fire  from  the  enemy  on  this  occasion  gave 
the  episode  a decided  thrill  of  realism.  He,  with  other 
government  officials  — largely,  no  doubt,  from  motives 
of  curiosity  — visited  the  scene  of  the  disturbance  and 
witnessed  the  miniature  but  sometimes  spirited  engage- 
ments. Among  these  visitors  was  Secretary  Welles, 
who  thus  records  his  experiences  (Diary,  July  12, 
1864)  : “ Rode  out  today  to  Fort  Stevens.  Looking 
out  over  the  valley  below,  where  the  continual  popping 
of  pickets  was  going  on,  I saw  a line  of  our  men  lying 
close  near  the  bottom  of  the  valley.  Senator  Wade 
came  up  beside  me.  We  went  into  the  Fort,  where  we 
found  the  President,  who  was  sitting  in  the  shade,  his 
back  against  the  parapet  toward  the'  enemy.  ...  As 
the  firing  from  the  Fort  ceased,  our  men  ran  to  the 
charge  and  the  Rebels  fled.  We  could  see  them  run- 
ning across  the  fields,  seeking  the  woods  on  the  brow 


536  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


of  the  opposite  hills.  Below,  we  could  see  here  and 
there  some  of  our  own  men  bearing  away  their  wounded 
comrades.  Occasionally  a bullet  from  some  long-range 
rifle  passed  over  our  heads.  It  was  an  interesting  and 
exciting  spectacle.”  Another  account  says : “ Presi- 
dent Lincoln  visited  the  lines  in  person,  and  refused  to 
retire,  although  urged  to  do  so.  He  exposed  himself 
freely  at  Fort  Stevens,  and  a surgeon  standing  along- 
side of  him  was  wounded  by  a ball  which  struck  a gun 
and  glanced.”  A gentleman  named  Neill,  who  lived  in 
the  counti’y,  about  twelve  miles  from  the  city,  gives  a 
vivid  conception  of  the  imminence  of  the  danger. 
“ After  breakfast,  on  Tuesday,  July  12,”  says  Mr. 
Neill,  “ I went  as  usual  in  a railway  car  to  the  city, 
and  before  noon  my  house  was  surrounded  by  General 
Bradley  Johnson’s  insurgent  cavalry,  who  had  made 
an  attempt  to  capture  the  New  York  express  train, 
and  had  robbed  the  country  store  near  by  of  its  con- 
tents. The  presence  of  the  cavalry  stopped  all  travel 
by  railroad;  and  Senator  Ramsey  of  Minnesota,  who 
happened  to  be  in  Washington,  could  find  no  way  to 
the  North  except  by  descending  the  Potomac  to  its 
mouth  and  then  ascending  Chesapeake  Bay  to  Balti- 
more. While  the  cavalry  was  in  the  fields  around  my 
home,  the  enemy’s  infantry  was  marching  toward  the 
capital  by  what  was  called  the  Seventh  Street  road, 
and  they  set  fire  to  the  residence  of  Hon.  Montgomery 
Blair,  who  had  been  Postmaster-General.  As  I sat  in 
my  room  at  the  President’s,  the  smoke  of  the  burning 
mansion  was  visible ; but  business  was  transacted  with 
as  much  quietness  as  if  the  foe  were  hundreds  of  miles 
distant.  Mr.  Fox,  the  assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
had  in  a private  note  informed  the  President  that  if 
there  should  be  a necessity  for  him  to  leave  the  city 
he  would  find  a steamer  in  readiness  at  the  wharf  at 
the  foot  of  Sixth  Street.  About  one  o’clock  in  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  587 


afternoon  of  each  day  of  the  skirmishing,  the  President 
would  enter  his  carriage,  and  drive  to  the  forts,  in  the 
suburbs,  and  watch  the  soldiers  repulse  the  invaders.” 
For  several  days  Washington  was  in  great  danger  of 
capture.  Nearly  all  the  forces  had  been  sent  forward 
to  reinforce  Grant,  and  the  city  was  comparatively 
defenseless.  But  its  slender  garrison,  mostly  raw  re- 
cruits, held  out  gallantly  under  the  encouragement  of 
the  President,  until  Grant  sent  a column  to  attack 
Early,  who  promptly  withdrew,  and  the  crisis  was 
over.  This  was  the  last  time  the  enemy  threatened 
the  national  capital.  From  that  time  he  had  enough 
to  do  to  defend  Richmond. 

Lincoln  labored  under  deep  depression  during  the 
summer  of  1864.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  achieved 
apparently  very  little  in  return  for  its  enormous  ex- 
penditure of  blood  and  treasure.  Until  the  victories 
of  Farragut  in  Mobile  Bay,  late  in  August,  and  Sher- 
man at  Atlanta  a few  days  later,  the  gloom  was  unre- 
lieved. The  people  were  restless  and  impatient,  and 
vented  their  displeasure  upon  the  administration,  hold- 
ing it  responsible  for  all  reverses  and  disappointments, 
and  giving  grudging  praise  for  success  at  any  point. 
The  popular  displeasure  was  increased  by  the  Presi- 
dent’s call  for  500,000  additional  troops,  made  July 
18,  — a measure  which  some  of  his  strongest  friends 
deprecated,  as  likely  to  jeopardize  his  re-election  in 
November.  “ It  is  not  a personal  question  at  all,” 
said  Lincoln.  “ It  matters  not  what  becomes  of  me. 
We  must  have  the  men.  If  I go  down,  I intend  to  go 
like  the  Cumberland,  with  my  colors  flying.”  To  the 
question,  When  is  the  war  to  end?  he  said,  “ Surely  I 
feel  as  deep  an  interest  in  this  question  as  any  other 
can;  but  I do  not  wish  to  name  a day,  a month,  or  a 
year,  when  it  is  to  end.  We  accepted  this  war  for  an 
object  — a worthy  object;  and  the  war  will  end  when 


538  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


that  object  is  attained.  Under  God,  I hope  it  never 
will  end  until  that  time” 

The  President’s  mind  seemed  constantly  weighted 
with  anxiety  as  to  the  movements  and  fortunes  of  our 
armies  in  the  field.  He  could  not  sleep  at  night  under 
this  crushing  load.  Secretary  Welles’s  Diary  gives 
frequent  instances  of  this.  Once,  after  an  engagement 
between  the  Western  armies,  the  President,  says  Mr. 
Welles,  “ came  to  me  with  the  latest  news.  He  was 
feeling  badly.  Tells  me  a despatch  was  sent  to  him 
at  the  Soldiers’  Home  last  night  shortly  after  he  got 
asleep,  and  so  disturbed  him  that  he  had  no  more  rest, 
but  arose  and  came  to  the  city  and  passed  the  re- 
mainder of  the  night  awake  and  watchful.”  At  another 
time,  after  a desperate  battle  between  Grant  and  Lee, 
Mr.  Welles  says : “ The  President  came  into  my  room 
about  one  p.  m.  and  told  me  he  had  slept  none  last 
night.  He  lay  down  for  a short  time  on  the  sofa  in 
my  room,  and  detailed  all  the  news  he  had  gathered.” 

Ex-Governor  Bross  of  Illinois  furnishes  an  account 
of  an  interview  with  Lincoln  during  this  dark  period: 
“ The  last  time  I saw  Mr.  Lincoln,  till,  as  a pall- 
bearer, I accompanied  his  remains  to  their  last  resting- 
place,  was  in  the  early  part  of  August,  1864*.  It  was 
directly  after  the  frightful  disaster  at  Petersburg,  and 
I was  on  my  way  to  the  front,  to  recover,  if  possible, 
the  body  of  my  brother,  Colonel  John  A.  Bross,  who 
fell  there  at  the  head  of  his  regiment.  I found  the 
President  with  a large  pile  of  documents  before  him. 
He  laid  down  his  pen  and  gave  me  a cordial  but  rather 
melancholy  welcome,  asking  anxiously  for  news  from 
the  West.  Neither  of  us  could  shut  our  eyes  to  the 
gloom  which  hung  over  the  entire  country.  The  terri- 
ble losses  of  the  Wilderness,  and  the  awful  disaster  at 
Petersburg,  weighed  heavily  upon  our  spirits.  To  a 
question,  I answered  that  the  people  expected  a still 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  539 


more  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war ; more  troops 
and  needful  appliances  would,  if  called  for,  be  forth- 
coming. ‘ I will  tell  you  what  the  people  want,’  said 
the  President,  ‘ they  want,  and  must  have,  success. 
But  whether  that  come  or  not,  I shall  stay  right  here 
and  do  my  duty.  Here  I shall  be ; and  they  may 
come  and  hang  me  on  that  tree  ’ (pointing  out  of  the 
window  to  one),  ‘but,  God  helping  me,  I shall  never 
desert  my  post.’  This  was  said  in  a way  that  assured 
me  that  these  were  the  sentiments  of  his  inmost  soul.” 

The  President,  about  this  time,  was  greatly  worried 
by  Horace  Greeley  and  others,  who  importuned  him 
to  receive  negotiations  for  peace  from  the  Confederate 
authorities.  He  at  length  said  to  Mr.  Greeley,  “ I not 
only  intend  a sincere  effort  for  peace,  but  you  shall  be 
a personal  witness  that  it  is  made.”  On  the  same  day 
that  the  call  for  additional  troops  was  made,  the 
President  issued,  through  Mr.  Greeley,  the  famous  let- 
ter, “ To  Whom  It  May  Concern,”  promising  safe  con- 
duct to  any  person  or  persons  authorized  to  present 
“ any  proposition  which  embraces  the  restoration  of 
peace,  the  integrity  of  the  whole  Union , and  the  aban- 
donment of  slavery .”  Nothing  came  of  the  proposed 
negotiations,  except  to  stop  for  a time  the  mischievous 
fault-finding;  which  was,  of  course,  the  result  aimed 
at  by  Lincoln.  The  act  was  severely  condemned  by 
many  Republicans ; but  Lincoln  only  said,  “ It  is 
hardly  fair  for  them  to  say  the  letter  amounts  to 
nothing.  It  will  shut  up  Greeley,  and  satisfy  the 
people  who  are  clamoring  for  peace.  That’s  some- 
thing, anyhow ! ” 

So  much  blame  was  heaped  upon  the  Government, 
and  so  great  was  the  dissatisfaction  at  the  North,  that 
Lincoln  looked  upon  the  election  of  his  competitor, 
General  McClellan,  and  his  own  retirement,  as  not  im- 
probable. An  incident  in  evidence  of  his  discourage- 


540  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


ment  is  related  by  Secretary  Welles.  Entering  the 
Executive  office  one  day,  Mr.  Welles  was  asked  to 
write  his  name  across  the  back  of  a sealed  paper  which 
the  President  handed  him.  The  names  of  several  other 
members  of  the  Cabinet  were  already  on  the  paper, 
with  the  dates  of  signature.  After  the  election,  Lincoln 
opened  the  document  in  the  presence  of  his  Cabinet  and 
read  to  them  its  contents,  as  follows : 

Executive  Mansion,  Washington, 
August  23,  1864. 

This  morning,  as  for  some  days  past,  it  seems  ex- 
ceedingly probable  that  this  administration  will  not  be 
re-elected.  Then  it  will  be  my  duty  to  co-operate  with 
the  President-elect  so  as  to  save  the  Union  between  the 
election  and  the  inauguration.  A.  Lincoln. 

By  this  careful  prevision  had  Lincoln  pledged  himself 
to  give  to  his  successor  that  unselfish  and  patriotic 
assistance  of  which  he  himself  had  stood  so  sorely 
in  need. 

As  the  desperation  of  the  South  and  the  opposition 
to  Lincoln  at  the  North  increased,  fears  were  enter- 
tained by  his  friends  that  an  attempt  might  be  made 
upon  his  life.  Lincoln  himself  paid  but  little  heed  to 
these  forebodings  of  evil.  He  said,  philosophically: 
“ I long  ago  made  up  my  mind  that  if  anybody  wants 
to  kill  me,  he  will  do  it.  If  I wore  a shirt  of  mail  and 
kept  myself  surrounded  by  a bodyguard,  it  would  be 
all  the  same.  There  are  a thousand  ways  of  getting 
at  a man  if  it  is  desired  that  he  should  be  killed.  Be- 
sides, in  this  case,  it  seems  to  me,  the  man  who  would 
succeed  me  would  be  just  as  objectionable  to  my  ene- 
mies — if  I have  any.”  One  dark  night,  as  he  was 
going  out  with  a friend,  he  took  along  a heavy  cane, 
remarking  good-humoredly  that  “ mother  ” (Mrs.  Lin- 
coln) had  “ got  a notion  into  her  head  that  I shall  be 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  541 


assassinated,  and  to  please  her  I take  a cane  when  I 
go  over  to  the  War  Department  at  nights  — when  I 
don’t  forget  it.” 

It  is  probable  that  the  attempts  upon  the  life  of 
President  Lincoln  were  more  numerous  than  is  gen- 
erally known.  An  incident  of  a very  thrilling  char- 
acter, which  might  easily  have  involved  a shocking 
tragedy,  is  related  by  Mr.  John  W.  Nichols,  who  from 
the  summer  of  1862  until  1865  was  one  of  the  Presi- 
dent’s body-guard.  “ One  night,  about  the  middle  of 
August,  1864,”  says  Mr.  Nichols,  “ I was  doing  senti- 
nel duty  at  the  large  gate  through  which  entrance  was 
had  to  the  grounds  of  the  Soldiers’  Home,  near  Wash- 
ington, where  Mr.  Lincoln  spent  much  time  in  summer. 
About  eleven  o’clock  I heard  a rifle-shot  in  the  direction 
of  the  city,  and  shortly  afterwards  I heard  approaching 
hoof-beats.  In  two  or  three  minutes  a horse  came 
dashing  up,  and  I recognized  the  belated  President. 
The  horse  he  rode  was  a very  spirited  one,  and  was 
Mr.  Lincoln’s  favorite  saddle-horse.  As  horse  and  rider 
approached  the  gate,  I noticed  that  the  President  was 
bareheaded.  As  soon  as  I had  assisted  him  in  check- 
ing his  steed,  the  President  said  to  me : ‘ He  came 
pretty  near  getting  away  with  me,  didn’t  he?  He 
got  the  bit  in  his  teeth  before  I could  draw  the  rein.’ 
I then  asked  him  where  his  hat  was ; and  he  replied 
that  somebody  had  fired  a gun  off  down  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill,  and  that  his  horse  had  become  scared  and 
had  jerked  his  hat  off.  I led  the  animal  to  the  Ex- 
ecutive Cottage,  and  the  President  dismounted  and 
entered.  Thinking  the  affair  rather  strange,  a corporal 
and  myself  started  off  to  investigate.  When  we 
reached  the  place  whence  the  sound  of  the  shot  had 
come  — a point  where  the  driveway  intersects  with  the 
main  road  — we  found  the  President’s  hat.  It  was  a 
plain  silk  hat,  and  upon  examination  we  discovered  a 


542  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


bullet-hole  through  the  crown.  We  searched  the  lo- 
cality thoroughly,  but  without  avail.  Next  day  I gave 
Mr.  Lincoln  his  hat,  and  called  his  attention  to  the 
bullet-hole.  He  made  some  humorous  remark,  to  the 
effect  that  it  was  made  by  some  foolish  marksman  and 
was  not  intended  for  him ; but  added  that  he  wished 
nothing  said  about  the  matter.  We  all  felt  confident 
it  was  an  attempt  to  kill  the  President,  and  after  that 
he  never  rode  alone.” 

Amidst  his  terrible  trials,  Lincoln  often  exhibited  a 
forced  and  sorrowful  serenity,  which  many  mistook  for 
apathy.  Even  his  oldest  and  best  friends  were  some- 
times deceived  in  this  way.  Hon.  Leonard  Swett  re- 
lates a touching  instance:  “In  the  summer  of  1864, 
when  Grant  was  pounding  his  way  toward  Richmond 
in  those  terrible  battles  of  the  Wilderness,  myself  and 
wife  were  in  Washington  trying  to  do  what  little  two 
persons  could  do  toward  alleviating  the  sufferings  of 
the  maimed  and  dying  in  the  vast  hospitals  of  that 
city.  We  tried  to  be  thorough  and  systematic.  We 
took  the  first  man  we  came  to,  brought  him  delicacies, 
wrote  letters  to  his  friends,  or  did  for  him  whatever 
else  he  most  needed;  then  the  next  man,  and  so  on. 
Day  after  day  cars  and  ambulances  were  coming  in, 
laden  with  untold  sorrows  for  thousands  of  homes. 
After  weeks  of  this  kind  of  experience  my  feelings 
became  so  wrought  up  that  I said  to  myself:  The 
country  cannot  long  endure  this  sacrifice.  In  mercy, 
both  to  North  and  South,  every  man  capable  of  bearing 
arms  must  be  hurried  forward  to  Grant  to  end  this 
fearful  slaughter  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  I 
went  to  President  Lincoln  at  the  White  House,  and 
poured  myself  out  to  him.  He  was  sitting  by  an  open 
window;  and  as  I paused,  a bird  lit  upon  a branch  just 
outside  and  was  twittering  and  singing  most  joyously. 
Mr.  Lincoln,  imitating  the  bird,  said:  ‘ Tweet , tweet, 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  543 


tweet;  is  n’t  he  singing  sweetly?  ’ I felt  as  if  my  legs 
had  been  cut  from  under  me.  I rose,  took  my  hat, 
and  said,  ‘ I see  the  country  is  safer  than  I thought.’ 
As  I moved  toward  the  door,  Mr.  Lincoln  called  out, 
in  his  hearty,  familiar  way,  ‘ Here,  Swett,  come  back 
and  sit  down.’  Then  he  went  on : ‘It  is  impossible 
for  a man  in  my  position  not  to  have  thought  of  all 
those  things.  Weeks  ago  every  man  capable  of  bearing 
arms  was  ordered  to  the  front,  and  everything  you  have 
suggested  has  been  done.’  ” 

The  burdens  borne  by  Lincoln  seemed  never  to  tell 
so  seriously  on  his  strength  and  vitality  as  in  this 
terrible  battle-summer  of  1861.  For  him  there  had 
been  no  respite,  no  holiday.  Others  left  the  heat  and 
dust  of  Washington  for  rest  and  recuperation;  but 
he  remained  at  his  post.  The  demands  upon  him  were 
incessant ; one  anxiety  and  excitement  followed  an- 
other, and  under  the  relentless  strain  even  his  sturdy 
strength  began  to  give  way.  “ I sometimes  fancy,” 
said  he,  with  pathetic  good-humor,  “ that  every  one 
of  the  numerous  grist  ground  through  here  daily,  from 
a Senator  seeking  a war  with  France  down  to  a poor 
woman  after  a place  in  the  Treasury  Department, 
darted  at  me  with  thumb  and  finger,  picked  out  their 
especial  piece  of  my  vitality,  and  carried  it  off.  When 
I get  through  with  such  a day’s  work  there  is  only  one 
word  which  can  express  my  condition,  and  that  is 
flabbiness .”  Once  Mr.  Brooks  “ found  him  sitting  in 
his  chair  so  collapsed  and  weary  that  he  did  not  look 
up  or  speak  when  I addressed  him.  He  put  out  his 
hand,  mechanically,  as  if  to  shake  hands,  when  I told 
him  I had  come  at  his  bidding.  Presently  he  roused 
a little,  and  remarked  that  he  had  had  ‘ a mighty  hard 
day.’  ” Mr.  Riddle,  who  saw  him  at  this  period,  after 
some  months’  absence,  says  he  was  shocked,  on  gaining 
admission  to  the  President,  “ by  his  appearance  — that 


544  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 

of  a baited,  cornered  man,  always  on  the  defense  against 
attacks  that  he  could  not  openly  meet  and  defy  or 
punish.”  Mr.  Carpenter,  an  inmate  of  the  White 
House,  says : “ Absorbed  in  his  papers,  he  would  be- 
come unconscious  of  my  presence,  while  I intently 
studied  every  line  and  shade  of  expression  in  that  fur- 
rowed face.  There  were  days  when  I could  scarcely 
look  into  it  without  crying.  During  the  first  week  of 
the  battles  of  the  Wilderness  he  scarcely  slept  at  all. 
Passing  through  the  main  hall  of  the  domestic  apart- 
ment on  one  of  these  days,  I met  him,  clad  in  a long 
morning  wrapper,  pacing  back  and  forth  a narrow 
passage  leading  to  one  of  the  windows,  his  hands  be- 
hind him,  great  black  rings  under  his  eyes,  his  head 
bent  forward  upon  his  breast,  — altogether  such  a 
picture  of  the  effects  of  sorrow,  care,  and  anxiety  as 
would  have  melted  the  hearts  of  the  worst  of  his 
adversaries,  who  so  mistakenly  applied  to  him  the 
epithets  of  tyrant  and  usurper.” 

Mr.  Edward  Dicey,  the  English  historian,  says: 
“ Never  in  my  knowledge  have  I seen  a sadder  face 
than  that  of  the  late  President  during  the  time  his 
features  were  familiar  to  me.  It  is  so  easy  to  be  wise 
after  the  event ; but  it  seems  to  me  now  that  one  ought 
somehow  to  have  foreseen  that  the  stamp  of  a sad  end 
was  impressed  by  nature  on  that  rugged,  haggard  face. 
The  exceeding  sadness  of  the  eyes  and  their  strange 
sweetness  were  the  one  redeeming  feature  in  a face  of 
unusual  plainness,  and  there  was  about  them  that  odd, 
weird  look,  which  some  eyes  possess,  of  seeming  to  see 
more  than  the  outer  objects  of  the  world  around.” 

Lincoln’s  family  and  friends  strove  to  beguile  him 
of  his  melancholy.  They  took  him  to  places  of  amuse- 
ment; they  walked  and  drove  with  him  in  the  pleas- 
antest scenes  about  the  capital;  and  above  all,  they 
talked  with  him  of  times  past,  seeking  to  divert  his 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  545 


mind  from  its  present  distress  by  reviving  memories 
of  more  joyous  days.  His  old  friends  were,  as  Mr. 
Arnold  states,  “ shocked  with  the  change  in  his  ap- 
pearance. They  had  known  him  at  his  home,  and  at 
the  courts  in  Illinois,  with  a frame  of  iron  and  nerves 
of  steel;  as  a man  who  hardly  knew  what  illness  was, 
ever  genial  and  sparkling  with  frolic  and  fun,  nearly 
always  cheery  and  bright.  Now  they  saw  the  wrinkles 
on  his  face  and  forehead  deepen  into  furrows ; the 
laugh  of  old  days  was  less  frequent,  and  it  did  not 
seem  to  come  from  the  heart.  Anxiety,  responsibility, 
care,  thought,  disasters,  defeats,  the  injustice  of 
friends,  wore  upon  his  giant  frame,  and  his  nerves  of 
steel  became  at  times  irritable.  He  said  one  day, 
with  a pathos  which  language  cannot  describe,  ‘ I feel 
as  though  I shall  never  be  glad  again.'  ” 

Hon.  Schuyler  Colfax  repeats  a similarly  pathetic 
expression  which  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  afflicted 
President.  “ One  morning,”  says  Mr.  Colfax,  “ calling 
upon  him  on  business,  I found  him  looking  more  than 
usually  pale  and  careworn,  and  inquired  the  reason. 
He  replied  with  the  bad  news  he  had  received  at  a late 
hour  the  previous  night,  which  had  not  yet  been  com- 
municated to  the  press,  adding  that  he  had  not  closed 
his  eyes  or  breakfasted;  and,  with  an  expression  I 
shall  never  forget,  he  exclaimed,  £ How  willingly  would 
I exchange  places  today  with  the  soldier  who  sleeps  on 
the  ground  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac ! ’ ” 

A lady  who  saw  Lincoln  in  the  summer  of  1864 
for  the  first  time,  and  who  had  expected  to  see  “ a very 
homely  man,”  says : “ I was  totally  unprepared  for  the 
impression  instantly  made  upon  me.  So  bowed  and 
sorrow-laden  was  his  whole  person,  expressing  such 
weariness  of  mind  and  body,  as  he  dropped  himself 
heavily  from  step  to  step  down  to  the  ground.  But 
his  face  ! — oh,  the  pathos  of  it ! — haggard,  drawn 


546  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


into  fixed  lines  of  unutterable  sadness,  with  a look  of 
loneliness,  as  of  a soul  whose  depth  of  sorrow  and 
bitterness  no  human  sympathy  could  ever  reach.  I was 
so  penetrated  with  the  anguish  and  settled  grief  in 
every  feature,  that  I gazed  at  him  through  tears,  and 
felt  I had  stepped  upon  the  threshold  of  a sanctuary 
too  sacred  for  human  feet.  The  impression  I carried 
away  was  that  I had  seen,  not  so  much  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  as  the  saddest  man  in  the  world.” 

The  changes  in  Lincoln’s  appearance  were  noted  in 
the  subdued,  refined,  purified  expression  of  his  face,  as 
of  one  struggling  almost  against  hope,  but  still  pa- 
tiently enduring.  Mr.  Brooks  says,  “ I have  known 
impressionable  women,  touched  by  his  sad  face  and  his 
gentle  bearing,  to  go  away  in  tears.”  Another  ob- 
server, Rev.  C.  B.  Crane,  wrote  at  the  time : “ The 
President  looks  thin  and  careworn.  His  form  is  bowed 
as  by  a crushing  load ; his  flesh  is  wasted  as  by  in- 
cessant solicitude;  and  his  face  is  thin  and  furrowed 
and  pale,  as  though  it  had  become  spiritualized  by  the 
vicarious  pain  which  he  endured  in  bearing  on  himself 
all  the  calamities  of  his  country.”  Truly  it  might  be 
said  of  him,  in  the  words  of  Matthew  Arnold: 

With  aching  hands  and  bleeding  feet 
We  dig  and  heap,  lay  stone  on  stone; 

We  bear  the  burden  and  the  heat 

Of  the  long  day,  and  wish  ’t  were  done. 

Not  till  the  hours  of  light  return 

All  we  have  built  do  we  discern. 

In  the  tragic  experiences  of  Lincoln  in  these  dark 
days,  the  outlook  was  less  gloomy  than  it  had  seemed 
to  his  tortured  soul.  He  was  even  then,  as  Mr.  John 
Bigelow  puts  it,  “ making  for  himself  a larger  place 
in  history  than  he  had  any  idea  of.”  He  “ builded 
better  than  he  knew  ” ; and  the  “ hours  of  light  ” were 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  517 


soon  to  come  when  he  would  know  what  he  had  built 
and  see  the  signs  that  promised  better  things.  The 
Presidential  election  of  1864  demonstrated  the  abiding 
confidence  of  the  people  in  him  and  his  administration. 
Every  loyal  State  but  three  — New  Jersey,  Delaware, 
and  Kentucky  — gave  him  its  electoral  vote ; and  his 
popular  majority  over  McClellan,  the  Democratic 
candidate,  was  upwards  of  400,000.  Lincoln  was 
cheered  but  not  exultant  at  the  news.  Late  in  the 
evening  of  election  day  (November  8,  1864)  he  said, 
in  response  to  public  congratulations : “ I am  thankful 
to  God  for  this  approval  of  the  people.  But  while 
deeply  grateful  for  this  mark  of  their  confidence  in  me, 
if  I know  my  own  heart  my  gratitude  is  free  from  any 
taint  of  personal  triumph.  It  is  not  in  my  nature  to 
triumph  over  anyone ; but  I give  thanks  to  Almighty 
God  for  this  evidence  of  the  people’s  resolution  to  stand 
by  free  government  and  the  rights  of  humanity.” 

While  the  election  returns  were  coming  in,  early  in 
the  evening,  Lincoln  was  at  the  War  Department  with 
a little  group  assembled  to  hear  them  read.  How  dif- 
ferent the  scene  from  that  in  the  quiet  country  town 
where  he  had  waited  for  the  returns  on  a similar  occa- 
sion four  years  before ! Then  all  was  peace  — the  lull 
before  the  storm.  Now  the  storm  had  broken,  and  its 
greatest  fury  was  raging  about  that  patient  and  de- 
voted man  who  waited  to  hear  the  decision  of  the  na- 
tion’s supreme  tribunal  — the  voice  of  the  people  whose 
decree  would  settle  the  fate  of  himself  and  of  the 
country.  Mr.  Charles  A.  Dana,  Assistant  Secretary 
of  War,  who  was  in  the  group,  gives  this  description 
of  the  scene : “ General  Eckert  was  coming  in  continu- 
ally with  telegrams  containing  election  returns.  Mr. 
Stanton  would  read  them,  and  the  President  would  look 
at  them  and  comment  upon  them.  Presently  there  came 
a lull  in  the  returns,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  called  me  up 


548  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


to  a place  by  his  side.  ‘ Dana,’  said  he,  ‘ have  you 
ever  read  any  of  the  writings  of  Petroleum  V.  Nasby?  ’ 
‘ No,  sir,’  I said,  ‘ I have  only  looked  at  some  of  them, 
and  they  seemed  to  me  funny.’  ‘ Well,’  said  he,  ‘ let 
me  read  you  a specimen,’  and  pulling  out  a thin  yellow- 
covered  pamphlet  from  his  breast  pocket  he  began  to 
read  aloud.  Mr.  Stanton  viewed  this  proceeding  with 
great  impatience,  as  I could  see;  but  Mr.  Lincoln  paid 
no  attention  to  that.  He  would  read  a page  or  a story, 
pause  to  con  a new  election  telegram,  and  then  open 
the  book  again  and  go  ahead  with  a new  passage. 
Finally  Mr.  Chase  came  in;  and  presently  Mr.  White- 
law  Reid,  and  then  the  reading  was  interrupted.  Mr. 
Stanton  went  to  the  door  and  beckoned  me  into  the 
next  room.  I shall  never  forget  his  indignation  at 
what  seemed  to  him  disgusting  nonsense.” 

The  morning  following  the  election  one  of  his  private 
secretaries,  Mr.  Neill,  coming  to  the  Executive  office 
earlier  than  usual,  found  Lincoln  at  his  table  engaged 
in  his  regular  routine  of  official  work.  “ Entering  the 
room,”  says  Mr.  Neill,  “ I took  a seat  by  his  side, 
extended  my  hand,  and  congratulated  him  upon  the 
vote;  for  the  country’s  sake  and  for  his  own  sake. 
Turning  away  from  the  papers  which  had  been  occupy- 
ing his  attention,  he  spoke  kindly  of  his  competitor, 
the  calm,  prudent  General,  and  great  organizer.” 

The  importance  of  Lincoln’s  re-election,  to  the  coun- 
try and  to  himself,  is  forcibly  stated  by  General  Grant 
and  Secretary  Seward.  The  former  telegraphed  from 
City  Point,  the  day  following:  “The  victory  is  worth 
more  to  the  country  than  a battle  won.”  And  the 
same  evening,  at  a public  gathering  held  to  celebrate 
the  event,  Mr.  Seward  said : “ The  election  has  placed 
our  President  beyond  the  pale  of  human  envy  or  human 
harm,  as  he  is  above  the  pale  of  human  ambition. 
Henceforth  all  men  will  come  to  see  him  as  we  have 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  549 


seen  him  — a true,  loyal,  patient,  patriotic,  and  benevo- 
lent man.  Having  no  longer  any  motive  to  malign  or 
injure  him,  detraction  will  cease,  and  Abraham  Lincoln 
will  take  his  place  with  Washington  and  Franklin  and 
Jefferson  and  Adams  and  Jackson  — among  the  bene- 
factors of  the  country  and  of  the  human  race.” 

Lincoln  evidently  felt  greatly  reassured  by  the  result 
of  what  had  seemed  to  him  a very  doubtful  contest;  but 
with  the  return  of  cheerfulness  came  also  the  dread  of 
continuing  his  official  labors.  He  began  to  long  and 
plan  for  that  happy  period  at  the  end  of  the  second 
term  when  he  should  be  free  from  public  burdens. 
“ Mrs.  Lincoln  desired  to  go  to  Europe  for  a long  tour 
of  pleasure,”  says  Mr.  Brooks.  “ The  President  was 
disposed  to  gratify  her  wish;  but  he  fixed  his  eyes  on 
California  as  a place  of  permanent  residence.  He  had 
heard  so  much  of  the  delightful  climate  and  the  abun- 
dant natural  productions  of  California  that  he  had 
become  possessed  of  a strong  desire  to  visit  the  State 
and  remain  there  if  he  were  satisfied  with  the  results 
of  his  observations.  ‘ When  we  leave  this  place,’  he 
said,  one  day,  ‘ we  shall  have  enough,  I think,  to  take 
care  of  us  old  people.  The  boys  must  look  out  for 
themselves.  I guess  mother  will  be  satisfied  with  six 
months  or  so  in  Europe.  After  that  I should  really 
like  to  go  to  California  and  take  a look  at  the  Pacific 
coast.’  ” 

After  the  Baltimore  Convention,  Mr.  Chase  pro- 
posed to  resign  his  position  as  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury, but  he  was  persuaded  by  influential  friends  of 
himself  and  Lincoln  to  reconsider  his  determination. 
Chief  among  these  friends  was  Hon.  John  Brough,  the 
sturdy  “ War  Governor  ” of  Ohio.  Later  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1864  the  relations  between  the  President  and 
Secretary  Chase  again  became  inharmonious ; the  lat- 
ter determined  a second  time  to  resign,  and  communi- 


550  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


cated  that  fact  in  a confidential  letter  to  Governor 
Brough.  Hon.  Win.  Henry  Smith,  at  that  time  Ohio’s 
Secretary  of  State,  and  intimately  acquainted  with  the 
circumstances  as  they  occurred,  says : “ Mr.  Brough 
went  directly  to  Washington  to  bring  about  another 
reconciliation.  After  talking  the  matter  over  with  Mr. 
Chase  and  Mr.  Stanton,  he  called  on  the  President  and 
urged  a settlement  that  would  retain  the  services  of 
Mr.  Chase  in  the  Treasury  Department.  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  very  kind,  and  admitted  the  force  of  all  that  was 
urged;  but  finally  said,  with  a quiet  but  impressive 
firmness,  ‘ Brough,  I think  you  had  better  give  up  the 
job  this  time.’  And  thereupon  he  gave  reasons  why 
it  was  unwise  for  Mr.  Chase  to  continue  longer  in  the 
Cabinet.” 

In  the  autumn,  the  Chief-Justiceship  became  vacant 
by  the  death  of  Judge  R.  B.  Taney  (October  11,  1864), 
and  the  friends  of  Mr.  Chase,  who  was  then  in  retire- 
ment, desired  his  elevation  to  that  honorable  seat. 
Congressman  Riddle,  who  was  designated  to  present  the 
matter  to  the  President,  says : “ After  hearing  what  I 
had  to  say,  Mr.  Lincoln  asked,  ‘ Will  this  content  Mr. 
Chase?  ’ ‘ It  is  said  that  those  bitten  of  the  Presidency 
die  of  it,’  I replied.  His  smile  showed  he  would  not 
take  that  answer.  I added:  ‘ Mr.  Chase  is  conscious  of 
ability  to  serve  the  country  as  President.  We  should 
expect  the  greatest  from  him.’  ‘ He  would  not  dis- 
appoint you,  were  it  in  his  reach.  But  I should  be 
sorry  to  see  a Chief- Justice  anxious  to  swap  for  it.’ 
I said  then  what  I had  already  said  to  Mr.  Chase : 
that  I would  rather  be  the  Chief-Justice  than  the 
President.  I urged  that  the  purity  and  elevation  of 
Mr.  Chase’s  character  guaranteed  the  dignity  of  the 
station  from  all  compromise;  that  momentous  ques- 
tions must  arise,  involving  recent  exercises  of  power, 
without  precedents  to  guide  the  court;  that  the  honor 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  551 


of  the  Government  would  be  safe  in  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Chase.  ( Would  you  pack  the  Supreme  Court?  ’ he 
asked,  a little  sharply.  ‘ Would  you  have  a Judge 
with  no  preconceived  notions  of  law?  ’ was  my  response. 
£ True,  true,’  was  his  laughing  reply ; ‘ how  could  I 
find  anyone,  fit  for  the  place,  who  has  not  some  definite 
notions  on  all  questions  likely  to  arise?  ’ ” 

The  proposed  appointment  of  Mr.  Chase  as  Chief- 
Justice  was  severely  criticized  by  certain  friends  of 
Lincoln,  who  believed  Mr.  Chase  was  personally  hostile 
to  the  President,  and  could  not  understand  the  latter’s 
magnanimity  in  thus  ignoring  personal  considerations. 
Wrhen  told  of  these  criticisms,  Lincoln  said : “ My 
friends  all  over  the  country  are  trying  to  put  up  the 
bars  between  me  and  Governor  Chase.  I have  a vast 
number  of  messages  and  letters  from  men  who  think 
they  are  my  friends,  imploring  and  warning  me  not  to 
appoint  him.  Now  I know  more  about  Governor 
Chase’s  hostility  to  me  than  any  of  these  men  can  tell 
me;  but  I am  going  to  nominate  him”  Which  he  did, 
and  Chase  became  Chief-Justice  in  December,  1864. 

The  withdrawal  of  Secretary  Chase  from  the  Cabinet 
was  soon  followed  by  that  of  Postmaster-General  Blair, 
who  was  succeeded  by  ex-Governor  Dennison  of  Ohio. 
Blair  received,  says  Mr.  Welles  in  his  Diary,  a let- 
ter from  the  President,  which,  though  friendly  in  tone, 
informed  him  that  the  time  had  arrived  when  it  seemed 
best  that  he  should  retire,  and  requesting  his  resigna- 
tion, which  was  promptly  given.  Mr.  Welles  says 
that  the  President  subsequently  informed  him  that 
“ Mr.  Chase  had  many  friends  who  felt  wounded  that 
he  should  have  left  the  Cabinet,  and  left  alone.  The 
friends  of  Blair  had  been  his  assailants,  and  the  Presi- 
dent thought  that  if  he  also  left  the  Cabinet  Chase 
and  his  friends  would  be  satisfied  and  the  administra- 
tion would  be  relieved  of  irritating  bickerings.  The 


552  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


relations  of  Blair  with  Stanton  also  were  such  that 
it  was  difficult  for  the  two  to  remain.”  A little  later 
came  the  resignation  of  Attorney-General  Bates,  which, 
says  Mr.  Welles,  “ has  initiated  more  intrigues.  A 
host  of  candidates  are  thrust  forward  — Evarts,  Holt, 
Cushing,  Whiting,  and  the  Lord  knows  who,  are  all 
candidates.”  This  gives  but  a faint  idea  of  the. em- 
barrassments and  dissensions  among  Lincoln’s  friends 
and  official  advisers,  and  of  the  ceaseless  efforts  and 
infinite  tact  that  were  needed  to  maintain  a decent  de- 
gree of  harmony  among  them. 

Early  in  December  the  President  submitted  to  Con- 
gress his  fourth  annual  message  — a brief  and  business- 
like statement  of  the  prospects  and  purposes  of  the 
Government.  Its  first  sentence  is : “ The  most  remark- 
able feature  in  the  military  operations  of  the  year  is 
General  Sherman’s  attempted  march  of  three  hundred 
miles  directly  through  the  insurgent  region.”  Then 
follows  a reference  to  the  important  movements  that 
had  occurred  during  the  year,  “ to  the  effect  of  mould- 
ing society  for  durability  in  the  Union.”  The  docu- 
ment closes  with  the  following  explicit  statement : “ In 
presenting  the  abandonment  of  armed  resistance  to  the 
national  authority,  on  the  part  of  the  insurgents,  as  the 
only  indispensable  condition  to  ending  the  war  on  the 
part  of  the  Government,  I retract  nothing  heretofore 
said  as  to  slavery.  If  the  people  should,  by  whatever 
mode  or  means,  make  it  an  executive  duty  to  re-enslave 
such  persons,  another,  and  not  I,  must  be  their  instru- 
ment to  perform  it.  In  stating  a single  condition  of 
peace,  I mean  simply  to  say  that  the  war  will  cease  on 
the  part  of  the  Government  whenever  it  shall  have 
ceased  on  the  part  of  those  who  began  it.” 

New  Year’s  day,  1865,  was  marked  by  a memorable 
incident.  Among  the  crowds  gathered  in  the  White 
House  grounds  stood  groups  of  colored  people,  watch- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  553 


mg  with  eager  eyes  the  tide  of  people  flowing  in  at  the 
open  door  to  exchange  salutations  with  the  President. 
It  was  a privilege  heretofore  reserved  for  the  white 
race;  but  now,  as  the  line  of  visitors  thinned,  showing 
that  the  reception  was  nearly  over,  the  boldest  of  the 
colored  men  drew  near  the  door  with  faltering  step. 
Some  were  in  conventional  attire,  others  in  fantastic 
dress,  and  others  again  in  laborers’  garb.  The  novel 
procession  moved  into  the  vestibule  and  on  into  the 
room  where  the  President  was  holding  the  republican 
court.  Timid  and  doubting,  though  determined,  they 
ventured  where  their  oppressed  and  down-trodden  race 
had  never  appeared  before,  and  with  the  keen,  anxious, 
inquiring  look  on  their  dark  faces,  seemed  like  a herd 
of  wild  creatures  from  the  woods,  in  a strange  and 
dangerous  place.  The  reception  had  been  unusually 
well  attended,  and  the  President  was  nearly  overcome 
with  weariness ; but  when  he  saw  the  dusky  faces  of 
his  unwonted  visitors,  he  rallied  from  his  fatigue  and 
gave  them  a hearty  welcome.  They  were  wild  with  joy. 
Thronging  about  him,  they  pressed  and  kissed  his  hand, 
laughing  and  weeping  at  once,  and  exclaiming,  “ God 
bless  Massa  Linkum ! ” It  was  a scene  not  easy  to 
forget:  the  thanks  and  adoration  of  a race  paid  to 
their  deliverer. 

Ever  since  issuing  the  Emancipation  Proclamation 
Lincoln  had  earnestly  desired  that  that  measure  should 
be  perfected  by  a Constitutional  amendment  forever 
prohibiting  slavery  in  the  territory  of  the  United 
States.  He  had  discussed  the  matter  fully  with  his 
friends  in  Congress,  and  repeatedly  urged  them  to  press 
it  to  an  issue.  Just  before  the  Baltimore  Convention, 
he  urged  Senator  Morgan  of  New  York,  chairman  of 
the  National  Republican  Committee,  to  have  the  pro- 
posed amendment  made  the  “ key-note  of  the  speeches 
and  the  key-note  of  the  platform.”  Congressman 


554  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


Rollins  of  Missouri  relates  that  the  President  said  to 
him,  “ The  passage  of  the  amendment  will  clinch  the 
whole  matter .”  The  subject  was  already  definitely  be- 
fore Congress.  In  December,  1863,  joint  resolutions 
for  this  great  end  had  been  introduced  in  the  House 
by  Hon.  James  M.  Ashley  of  Ohio,  and  in  the  Senate 
by  Hon.  Charles  Sumner  of  Massachusetts  and  Hon. 
J.  B.  Henderson  of  Missouri.  Senator  Trumbull  of 
the  Judiciary  Committee,  to  whom  the  Senate  resolu- 
tions were  referred,  reported  a substitute  for  the  amend- 
ment, which,  in  April,  1864,  passed  the  Senate  by  a 
vote  of  thirty-eight  to  six;  but  reaching  the  House, 
June  15,  it  failed  to  get  the  necessary  two-thirds  vote 
and  was  defeated.  At  the  next  session  of  Congress  the 
resolutions  were  again  presented  to  the  House,  and 
after  a protracted  debate  were  passed  (January  13, 
1865)  by  a vote  of  one  hundred  and  nineteen  to  fifty- 
six.  Illinois  was  the  first  State  to  ratify  the  amend- 
ment ; and  others  promptly  followed.  Lincoln  was 
grateful  and  delighted.  He  remarked,  “ This  ends  the 
job”;  adding,  “ I feel  proud  that  Illinois  is  a little 
ahead.” 

Overtures  having  been  made,  through  General  Grant, 
for  a meeting  between  the  President  and  certain  “ peace 
commissioners  ” representing  the  belligerents,  Lincoln, 
anxious  that  nothing  should  be  left  undone  that  might 
evidence  his  desire  to  bring  the  war  to  a close,  con- 
sented to  the  interview.  On  the  morning  of  February 
2,  1865,  he  left  Washington,  quite  privately,  in  order 
to  accomplish  his  mission  without  awakening  the  gossip 
and  criticism  which  publicity  would  excite.  At  Fortress 
Monroe  he  was  joined  by  Secretary  Seward,  who  seems 
to  have  been  the  only  member  of  the  Cabinet  who  knew 
of  the  President’s  intention  to  meet  the  Southern  Com- 
missioners. Lincoln  took  the  full  responsibility,  as  he 
often  did  when  dealing  with  risky  or  unpopular 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  555 


measures.  “ None  of  the  Cabinet  were  advised  of  this 
move,  and  without  exception  I think  it  struck  them 
unfavorably  that  the  Chief  Magistrate  should  have 
gone  on  such  a mission,”  is  the  comment  of  Secretary 
Welles,  — although  he  adds,  “The  discussion  will  be 
likely  to  tend  to  peace.” 

The  next  morning  (February  3)  the  President  and 
Mr.  Seward  received  the  Southern  Commissioners  — 
Stephens,  Hunter,  and  Campbell  — on  board  the  U.  S. 
steam  transport  “ River  Queen  ” in  Hampton  Roads. 
The  conference,  says  Mr.  Seward,  “ was  altogether  in- 
formal. There  was  no  attendance  of  secretaries,  clerks, 
or  other  witnesses.  Nothing  was  written  or  read.  The 
conversation,  although  earnest  and  free,  was  calm  and 
courteous  and  kind  on  both  sides.  The  Richmond 
party  approached  the  subject  rather  indirectly,  and  at 
no  time  did  they  either  make  categorical  demands  or 
tender  formal  stipulations  or  absolute  refusals.  Nevei’- 
theless,  during  the  conference,  which  lasted  four  hours, 
the  several  points  at  issue  between  the  Government  and 
the  insurgents  were  distinctly  raised  and  discussed, 
fully,  intelligently,  and  in  an  amicable  spirit.” 

The  meeting  was  fruitless.  The  commissioners  asked, 
as  a preliminary  step,  the  recognition  of  Jefferson 
Davis  as  President  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 
Lincoln  declined,  stating  that  “ the  only  ground  on 
which  he  could  rest  the  justice  of  the  war  — either  with 
his  own  people  or  with  foreign  powers  — was  that  it 
was  not  a war  of  conquest,  for  the  States  had  never  been 
separated  from  the  Union.  Consequently  he  could  not 
recognize  another  government  inside  of  the  one  of 
which  he  alone  was  President,  nor  admit  the  separate 
independence  of  States  that  were  yet  a part  of  the 
Union.  ‘ That,’  said  he,  * would  be  doing  what  you 
have  so  long  asked  Europe  to  do  in  vain,  and  be  re- 
signing the  only  thing  the  armies  of  the  Union  have 


556  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


been  fighting  for.’  Mr.  Hunter,  one  of  the  commission- 
ers, made  a long  reply  to  this,  insisting  that  the  recog- 
nition of  Davis’s  power  to  make  a treaty  was  the  first 
and  indispensable  step  to  peace,  and  referred  to  the 
correspondence  between  King  Charles  I.  and  his  Par- 
liament as  a trustworthy  precedent  of  a constitutional 
ruler  treating  with  rebels.  Lincoln’s  face  then  wore 
that  indescribable  expression  which  generally  preceded 
his  hardest  hits,  as  he  remarked:  ‘Upon  questions  of 
history  I must  refer  you  to  Mr.  Seward,  for  he  is 
posted  in  such  things,  and  I don’t  pretend  to  be.  My 
only  distinct  recollection  of  the  matter  is  that  Charles 
lost  his  head .’  ” 

Alexander  H.  Stephens,  one  of  the  commissioners  at 
the  meeting  on  board  the  “ River  Queen,”  and  the  Vice- 
President  of  the  waning  Confederacy,  was  a very  small 
man  physically,  with  a complexion  so  yellow  as  to  sug- 
gest an  ear  of  ripe  corn.  Lincoln  gave  the  following 
humorous  account  of  the  meeting  with  him : “ Mr. 

Stephens  had  on  an  overcoat  about  three  sizes  too  big 
for  him,  with  an  old-fashioned  high  collar.  The  cabin 
soon  began  to  get  pretty  warm,  and  after  a while  he 
stood  up  and  pulled  off  his  big  coat.  He  slipped  it 
off  just  about  as  you  would  husk  an  ear  of  corn.  I 
could  n’t  help  thinking,  as  I looked  first  at  the  overcoat 
and  then  at  the  man,  ‘ Well,  that ’s  the  biggest  shuck 
and  the  smallest  nubbin  I ever  laid  eyes  on.’  ” 

So  strongly  were  Lincoln’s  hopes  fixed  on  finding 
some  possible  basis  for  a peaceful  restoration  of  the 
Union  that  a few  days  after  his  return  from  his  meeting 
with  the  Southern  Peace  Commissioners  he  presented  to 
the  Cabinet  (February  5,  1865)  a scheme  for  paying 
to  the  Southern  States  a partial  compensation  for  the 
loss  of  their  slaves,  provided  they  would  at  once  dis- 
continue armed  resistance  to  the  Federal  Government. 
It  was,  says  Mr.  Welles,  who  was  present  at  the  meet- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  557 


in g referred  to,  as  “ a proposition  for  paying  the  ex- 
penses of  the  war  for  two  hundred  days,  or  four  hun- 
dred millions  of  dollars,  to  the  rebellious  States,  to  be 
for  the  extinguishment  of  slavery.  The  scheme  did  not 
meet  with  favor,  and  was  dropped.”  But  it  showed, 
adds  Mr.  Welles,  “ the  earnest  desire  of  the  President 
to  conciliate  and  effect  peace.” 

The  evening  of  March  3,  1865,  the  President  had 
remained  with  his  Cabinet  at  the  Capitol  until  a late 
hour,  finishing  the  business  pertaining  to  the  last  acts 
of  the  old  Congress.  His  face  had  the  ineffaceable 
care-worn  look,  yet  his  manner  was  cheerful,  and  he 
appeared  to  be  occupied  with  the  work  of  the  moment, 
to  the  exclusion  of  all  thoughts  of  the  future  or  of  the 
great  event  of  the  morrow. 

Rain  prevailed  during  the  morning  of  inauguration 
day,  but  before  noon  it  had  ceased  falling.  The  new 
Senate,  convened  for  a special  session,  was  organized, 
and  Andrew  Johnson  was  sworn  in  its  presence  into  the 
office  of  Vice-President.  Shortly  after  twelve  o’clock, 
Lincoln  entered  the  chamber  and  joined  the  august 
procession,  which  then  moved  to  the  eastern  portico. 
As  Lincoln  stepped  forward  to  take  the  oath  of  office, 
a flood  of  sunlight  suddenly  burst  from  the  clouds, 
illuminating  his  face  and  form  as  he  bowed  to  the 
acclamations  of  the  people.  Speaking  of  this  incident 
next  day,  he  said,  “ Did  you  notice  that  sunburst?  It 
made  my  heart  jump.”  Cheers  and  shouts  rent  the  air 
as  the  President  prepared  to  speak  his  inaugural.  He 
raised  his  arm,  and  the  crowd  hushed  to  catch  his  open- 
ing words.  He  paused,  as  though  thronging  memories 
impeded  utterance ; then,  in  a voice  clear  and  strong, 
but  touched  with  pathos,  he  read  that  eloquent  and  im- 
perishable composition,  the  Second  Inaugural  Address. 

Fellow-Countrymen:  At  this  second  appearing  to 
take  the  oath  of  the  Presidential  office,  there  is  less 


558  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


occasion  for  an  extended  address  than  there  was  at  the 
first.  Then  a statement,  somewhat  in  detail,  of  a 
course  to  be  pursued,  seemed  fitting  and  proper.  Now, 
at  the  expiration  of  four  years,  during  which  public 
declarations  have  been  constantly  called  forth  on  every 
point  and  phase  of  the  great  contest  which  still  absorbs 
the  attention  and  engrosses  the  energies  of  the  Nation, 
little  that  is  new  could  be  presented.  The  progress  of 
our  arms,  upon  which  all  else  chiefly  depends,  is  as  well 
known  to  the  public  as  to  myself ; and  it  is,  I trust, 
reasonably  satisfactory  and  encouraging  to  all.  With 
high  hope  for  the  future,  no  prediction  in  regard  to  it 
is  ventured. 

On  the  occasion  corresponding  to  this,  four  years 
ago,  all  thoughts  were  anxiously  directed  to  an  im- 
pending civil  war.  All  dreaded  it,  all  sought  to  avoid 
it.  While  the  inaugural  address  was  being  delivered 
from  this  place,  devoted  altogether  to  saving  the  Union 
without  war,  insurgent  agents  were  in  the  city,  seeking 
to  destroy  it  with  war,  — seeking  to  dissolve  the  Union, 
and  divide  the  effects  by  negotiation.  Both  parties 
deprecated  war,  but  one  of  them  would  make  war  rather 
than  let  the  Nation  survive,  and  the  other  would  accept 
war  rather  than  let  it  perish ; and  the  war  came.  One- 
eighth  of  the  whole  population  were  colored  slaves,  not 
distributed  generally  over  the  Union,  but  localized  in 
the  southern  part  of  it.  These  slaves  constituted  a 
peculiar  and  powerful  interest.  All  knew  that  this 
interest  was  somehow  the  cause  of  the  war.  To 
strengthen,  perpetuate,  and  extend  this  interest  was 
the  object  for  which  the  insurgents  would  rend  the 
Union  by  war,  while  the  Government  claimed  no  right 
to  do  more  than  to  restrict  the  territorial  enlargement 
of  it. 

Neither  party  expected  for  the  war  the  magnitude 
or  the  duration  which  it  has  already  attained.  Neither 
anticipated  that  the  cause  of  the  conflict  might  cease 
when,  or  even  before  the  conflict  itself  should  cease. 
Each  looked  for  an  easier  triumph,  and  a result  less 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  559 


fundamental  and  astounding.  Both  read  the  same 
Bible,  and  pray  to  the  same  God,  and  each  invokes  His 
aid  against  the  other.  It  may  seem  strange  that  any 
men  should  dare  to  ask  a just  God’s  assistance  in 
wringing  their  bread  from  the  sweat  of  other  men’s 
faces;  but  let  us  judge  not,  that  we  be  not  judged. 
The  prayer  of  both  could  not  be  answered.  That  of 
neither  has  been  answered  fully.  The  Almighty  has  his 
own  purposes.  “ Woe  unto  the  world  because  of 
offenses,  for  it  must  needs  be  that  offenses  come,  but 
woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the  offense  cometh.”  If  we 
shall  suppose  that  American  slavery  is  one  of  those 
offenses,  which,  in  the  Providence  of  God,  must  needs 
come,  but  which,  having  continued  through  His  ap- 
pointed time,  He  now  wills  to  remove,  and  that  He  gives 
to  North  and  South  this  terrible  war,  as  the  woe  due 
to  those  by  whom  the  offense  came,  shall  we  discern 
therein  any  departure  from  those  Divine  attributes 
which  the  believers  in  a living  God  always  ascribe  to 
Him?  Fondly  do  we  hope,  fervently  do  we  pray,  that 
this  mighty  scourge  of  war  may  speedily  pass  away. 
Yet  if  God  wills  that  it  continue  until  all  the  wealth 
piled  by  the  bondman’s  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of 
unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until  every  drop  of 
blood  drawn  by  the  lash  shall  be  paid  by  another  drawn 
with  the  sword,  as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago, 
so  still  it  must  be  said:  “ The  judgments  of  the  Lord 
are  true  and  righteous  altogether.” 

With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with 
firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right, 
let  us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we  are  in ; to  bind 
up  the  nation’s  wounds ; to  care  for  him  who  shall  have 
borne  the  battle,  and  for  his  widow  and  for  his  orphan ; 
to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a just  and 
lasting  peace  among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations. 

This  address  was  probably,  next  to  the  Gettysburg 
oration,  Lincoln’s  most  eloquent  and  touching  public 
appeal.  Gladstone  of  England  said  of  it:  “ I am  taken 


560  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


captive  by  so  striking  an  utterance  as  this.  I see  in  it 
the  effect  of  sharp  trial,  when  rightly  borne,  to  raise 
men  to  a higher  level  of  thought  and  action.  It  is  by 
cruel  suffering  that  nations  are  sometimes  born  to  a 
better  life.  So  it  is  with  individual  men.  Lincoln’s 
words  show  that  upon  him  anxiety  and  sorrow  have 
wrought  their  true  effect.” 

As  the  procession  moved  from  the  Capitol  to  the 
White  House,  at  the  close  of  the  inaugural  ceremonies, 
a bright  star  was  visible  in  the  heavens.  The  crowds 
gazing  upon  the  unwonted  phenomenon  noted  it  as  an 
auspicious  omen,  like  the  baptism  of  sunshine  which 
had  seemed  to  consecrate  the  President  anew  to  his 
exalted  office. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


Close  of  the  Civil  War  — Last  Acts  in  the  Great  Tragedy  — Lincoln  at 
the  Front  — A Memorable  Meeting  — Lincoln,  Grant,  Sherman, 
and  Porter  — Life  on  Shipboard  — Visit  to  Petersburg  — Lincoln 
and  the  Prisoners  — Lincoln  in  Richmond  — The  Negroes  Wel- 
coming their  “Great  Messiah”  — A Warm  Reception  — Lee’s  Sur- 
render — Lincoln  Receives  the  News  — Universal  Rejoicing  — Lin- 
coln’s Last  Speech  to  the  Public  — His  Feelings  and  Intentions 
toward  the  South  — His  Desire  for  Reconciliation. 

GREAT  events  crowded  upon  each  other  in  the 
last  few  weeks  of  the  Civil  War ; and  we  must 
pass  rapidly  over  them,  giving  special  prominence  only 
to  those  with  which  President  Lincoln  was  personally 
connected.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  under  Grant, 
which  for  nearly  a year  had  been  incessantly  engaged 
with  the  army  of  General  Lee,  had  forced  the  latter, 
fighting  desperately  at  every  step,  back  through  the 
Wilderness,  into  the  defenses  about  Richmond;  and 
Lee’s  early  surrender  or  retreat  southward  seemed  the 
only  remaining  alternatives.  But  the  latter  course, 
disastrous  as  it  would  have  been  for  the  Confederacy, 
was  rendered  impracticable  by  the  comprehensive  plan 
of  operations  that  had  been  adopted  a year  before. 
Interposed  between  Richmond  and  the  South  was  now 
the  powerful  army  of  General  Sherman.  This  daring 
and  self-reliant  officer,  after  his  brilliant  triumph  at 
Atlanta  the  previous  fall,  had  pushed  on  to  Savannah 
and  captured  that  city  also ; then  turning  his  veteran 
columns  northward,  he  had  swept  like  a dread  meteor 
through  South  Carolina,  destroying  the  proud  city  of 
Charleston,  and  then  Columbia,  the  State  capital. 
General  Johnston,  with  a strong  force,  vainly  tried  to 


562  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


stay  his  progress  through  North  Carolina;  but  after 
a desperate  though  unsuccessful  battle  at  Bentonville 
(March  20,  1865),  the  opposition  gave  way,  and  the 
Union  troops  occupied  Goldsboro,  an  important  point 
a hundred  miles  south  of  Richmond,  commanding  the 
Southern  railway  communications  of  the  Confederate 
capital.  The  situation  was  singularly  dramatic  and 
impressive.  In  this  narrow  theatre  of  war  were  now 
being  rendered,  with  all  the  leading  actors  on  the  stage, 
the  closing  scenes  of  that  great  and  bloody  tragedy. 
Grant  on  the  north  and  Sherman  on  the  south  were 
grinding  Lee  and  Johnston  between  them  like  upper 
and  nether  millstones. 

The  last  days  of  March  brought  unmistakable  signs 
of  the  speedy  breaking-up  of  the  rebellion.  Lincoln, 
filled  with  anticipation  not  unmixed  with  anxiety,  wished 
to  be  at  the  front.  “ When  we  came  to  the  end  of  the 
War  and  the  breaking-up  of  things,”  says  General 
Grant,  “ one  of  Lincoln’s  friends  said  to  me,  ‘ I think 
Lincoln  would  like  to  come  down  and  spend  a few  days 
at  City  Point,  but  he  is  afraid  if  he  does  come  it  might 
look  like  interfering  with  the  movements  of  the  army, 
and  after  all  that  has  been  said  about  other  Generals 
he  hesitates,’  I was  told  that  if  Lincoln  had  a hint 
from  me  that  he  would  be  welcome  he  would  come  by 
the  first  boat.  Of  course  I sent  word  that  the  Presi- 
dent could  do  me  no  greater  honor  than  to  come  down 
and  be  my  guest.  He  came  down,  and  we  spent  several 
days  riding  around  the  lines.  He  was  a fine  horseman. 
He  talked,  and  talked,  and  talked;  he  seemed  to  enjoy 
it,  and  said,  ‘ How  grateful  I feel  to  be  with  the  boys 
and  see  what  is  being  done  at  Richmond ! ’ He  never 
asked  a question  about  the  movements.  He  would  say, 
‘ Tell  me  what  has  been  done ; not  what  is  to  be  done.’ 
He  would  sit  for  hours  tilted  back  in  his  chair,  with 
his  hand  shading  his  eyes,  watching  the  movements 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  563 


of  the  men  with  the  greatest  interest.”  Another  ac- 
count says : “ Lincoln  made  many  visits  with  Grant  to 
the  lines  around  Richmond  and  Petersburg.  On  such 
occasions  he  usually  rode  one  of  the  General’s  fine  bay 
horses,  called  ‘ Cincinnati.’  He  was  a good  horseman, 
and  made  his  way  through  swamps  and  over  corduroy 
roads  as  well  as  the  best  trooper  in  the  command.  The 
soldiers  invariably  recognized  him,  and  greeted  him, 
wherever  he  appeared  amongst  them,  with  cheers  that 
were  no  lip  service,  but  came  from  the  depth  of  their 
hearts.  He  always  had  a pleasant  salute  or  a friendly 
word  for  the  men  in  the  ranks.” 

Aside  from  the  President’s  desire  to  be  at  the  front 
at  this  critical  time,  he  had  an  almost  feverish  anxiety 
to  escape  from  the  petty  concerns  and  details  of  official 
life  in  Washington.  In  Welles’s  Diary  is  this  entry 
(March  23,  1865)  : “ The  President  has  gone  to  the 
front,  partly  to  get  rid  of  the  throng  [office-seekers, 
politicians,  etc.]  that  is  pressing  on  him.  The  more 
he  yields,  the  greater  the  pressure.  It  has  now  become 
such  that  he  is  compelled  to  flee.  There  is  no  doubt 
he  is  much  worn  down.  Besides,  he  wishes  the  war 
terminated,  and,  to  this  end,  that  severe  terms  shall 
not  be  exacted  of  the  Rebels.” 

Much  of  the  time  during  the  President’s  visit  to  the 
army  he  had  his  quarters  on  the  steamer  “ River 
Queen,”  lying  in  the  James  river  at  City  Point.  It 
was  the  same  vessel  on  which  he  had  received  the 
Southern  peace  commissioners  a month  before,  and 
the  one  on  which  he  had  made  the  journey  from 
Washington.  On  the  27th  of  March  a memorable  in- 
terview occurred  in  the  cabin  of  this  vessel,  between 
President  Lincoln,  Generals  Grant  and  Sherman,  and 
Admiral  Porter.  General  Sherman  thus  describes  the 
interview:  “I  left  Goldsboro  on  the  25th  of  March 
and  reached  City  Point  on  the  afternoon  of  the  27th. 


564  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


I found  General  Grant  and  staff  occupying  a neat  set 
of  log  huts,  on  a bluff  overlooking  the  James  river. 
The  General’s  family  was  with  him.  We  had  quite  a 
long  and  friendly  talk,  when  Grant  remarked  that  the 
President  was  near  by  in  a steamer  lying  at  the  dock, 
and  he  proposed  that  we  should  call  at  once.  We  did 
so,  and  found  Mr.  Lincoln  on  board  the  ‘ River  Queen.’ 
We  had  met  in  the  early  part  of  the  war;  he  recog- 
nized me,  and  received  me  with  a warmth  of  manner 
and  expression  that  was  most  grateful.  We  sat  some 
time  in  the  after-cabin,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  made  many 
inquiries  about  the  events  which  attended  the  march 
from  Savannah  to  Goldsboro,  and  seemed  to  enjoy  the 
humorous  stories  about  4 our  bummers,’  of  which  he 
had  heard  much.  When  in  lively  conversation  his  face 
brightened  wonderfully,  but  if  the  conversation  flagged 
it  assumed  a sad  and  sorrowful  expression.  General 
Grant  and  I explained  to  him  that  my  next  move  from 
Goldsboro  would  bring  my  army,  increased  to  80,000 
men  by  Schofield’s  and  Terry’s  reinforcements,  in  close 
communication  with  Grant’s  army  then  investing  Lee 
and  Richmond;  and  that  unless  Lee  could  effect  his 
escape  and  make  junction  with  Johnston  in  North 
Carolina,  he  would  soon  be  shut  up  in  Richmond  with 
no  possibility  of  supplies,  and  would  have  to  surrender. 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  extremely  interested  in  this  view  of 
the  case,  and  we  explained  that  Lee’s  only  chance  was 
to  escape,  join  Johnston,  and,  being  then  between  me 
in  North  Carolina  and  Grant  in  Virginia,  he  could 
choose  which  to  fight.  Mr.  Lincoln  seemed  impressed 
with  this ; but  General  Grant  explained  that  at  the 
very  moment  of  our  conversation  General  Sheridan  was 
pressing  his  cavalry  across  James  River  from  the  north 
to  the  south,  that  with  this  cavalry  he  would  so  extend 
his  left  below  Petersburg  as  to  meet  the  South  Shore 
Road,  and  that  if  Lee  should  ‘ let  go  ’ his  fortified 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  565 


lines  he  (Grant)  would  follow  him  so  close  that  he 
could  not  possibly  fall  on  me  alone  in  North  Carolina. 
I in  like  manner  expressed  the  fullest  confidence  that 
my  army  in  North  Carolina  was  willing  to  cope  with 
Lee  and  Johnston  combined,  till  Grant  could  come  up. 
But  we  both  agreed  that  one  more  bloody  battle  was 
likely  to  occur  before  the  close  of  the  war.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln repeatedly  inquired  as  to  General  Schofield’s  ability 
to  maintain  his  position  in  my  absence,  and  seemed 
anxious  that  I should  return  to  North  Carolina.  More 
than  once  he  exclaimed,  4 Must  more  blood  be  shed? 
Cannot  this  last  bloody  battle  be  avoided?  ’ We  ex- 
plained that  we  had  to  presume  that  General  Lee  was 
a real  general;  that  he  must  see  that  Johnston  alone 
was  no  barrier  to  my  progress,  and  that  if  my  army 
of  80,000  veterans  should  reach  Burksville  he  was  lost 
in  Richmond ; and  that  we  were  forced  to  believe  he 
would  not  await  that  inevitable  conclusion,  but  would 
make  one  more  desperate  effort.” 

General  Sherman  adds  this  personal  tribute  to  Lin- 
coln to  the  account  of  the  interview  on  board  the 
44  River  Queen  ” : 44  When  I left  Mr.  Lincoln  I was 
more  than  ever  impressed  by  his  kindly  nature,  his 
deep  and  earnest  sympathy  with  the  afflictions  of  the 
whole  people,  resulting  from  the  war,  and  by  the  march 
of  hostile  armies  through  the  South.  I felt  that  his 
earnest  desire  was  to  end  the  war  speedily,  without 
more  bloodshed  or  devastation,  and  to  restore  all  the 
men  of  both  sections  to  their  homes.  In  the  language 
of  his  second  inaugural  address,  he  seemed  to  have 
4 charity  for  all,  malice  toward  none,’  and  above  all  an 
absolute  faith  in  the  courage,  manliness,  and  integrity 
of  the  armies  in  the  field.  When  at  rest  or  listening, 
his  legs  and  arms  seemed  to  hang  almost  lifeless,  and 
his  face  was  careworn  and  haggard ; but  the  moment 
he  began  to  talk  his  face  lightened  up,  his  tall  form, 


566  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


as  it  were,  unfolded,  and  he  was  the  very  impersona- 
tion of  good  humor  and  fellowship.  The  last  words 
I recall  as  addressed  to  me  were  that  he  would  feel 
better  when  I was  back  at  Goldsboro.  We  parted  at 
the  gangway  of  the  ‘ River  Queen,’  about  noon  of 
March  28,  and  I never  saw  him  again.  Of  all  the 
men  I ever  met,  he  seemed  to  possess  more  of  the  ele- 
ments of  greatness,  combined  with  goodness,  than  any 
other.” 

A few  days  after  the  interview  described  by  General 
Sherman,  the  President  changed  his  quarters  to  the 
cabin  of  the  “ Malvern,”  Admiral  Porter’s  flagship. 
The  Admiral  says : “ The  ‘ Malvern  ’ was  a small  vessel 
with  poor  accommodations,  and  not  at  all  fitted  to 
receive  high  personages.  She  was  a captured  blockade- 
runner,  and  had  been  given  to  me  as  a flag-ship.  I 
offered  the  President  my  bed,  but  he  positively  de- 
clined it,  and  elected  to  sleep  in  a small  state-room 
outside  of  the  cabin  occupied  by  my  secretary.  It  was 
the  smallest  kind  of  a room,  six  feet  long  by  four  and 
a half  feet  wide  — a small  kind  of  a room  for  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  be  domiciled  in ; but 
Mr.  Lincoln  seemed  pleased  with  it.  When  he  came 
to  breakfast  the  next  morning,  I inquired  how  he  had 
slept : ‘ I slept  well,’  he  answered,  * but  you  can’t  put 
a long  sword  into  a short  scabbard.  I was  too  long 
for  that  berth.’  Then  I remembered  he  was  over  six 
feet  four  inches,  while  the  berth  was  only  six  feet. 
That  day,  while  we  were  out  of  the  ship,  all  the  car- 
penters were  put  to  work ; the  state-room  was  taken 
down  and  increased  in  size  to  eight  feet  by  six  and  a 
half  feet.  The  mattress  was  widened  to  suit  a berth 
of  four  feet  width,  and  the  entire  state-room  remodelled. 
Nothing  was  said  to  the  President  about  the  change 
in  his  quarters  when  he  went  to  bed ; but  next  morning 
he  came  out  smiling,  and  said : ‘ A miracle  happened 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  567 


last  night;  I shrank  six  inches  in  length  and  about  a 
foot  sideways.  I got  somebody  else’s  big  pillow,  and 
slept  in  a better  bed  than  I did  on  the  “ River  Queen.”  ’ 
He  enjoyed  it  greatly;  but  I do  think  if  I had  given 
him  two  fence-rails  to  sleep  on  he  would  not  have 
found  fault.  That  was  Abraham  Lincoln  in  all  things 
relating  to  his  own  comfort.  He  would  never  permit 
people  to  put  themselves  out  for  him  under  any 
circumstances.” 

On  the  2d  of  April  the  stronghold  of  Petersburg  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Union  troops.  Lincoln,  accom- 
panied by  Admiral  Porter,  visited  the  city.  They 
joined  General  Grant,  and  sat  with  him  for  nearly 
two  hours  upon  the  porch  of  a comfortable  little  house 
with  a small  yard  in  front.  Crowds  of  citizens  soon 
gathered  at  the  fence  to  gaze  upon  these  remarkable 
men  of  whom  they  had  heard  so  much.  The  Presi- 
dent’s heart  was  filled  writh  joy,  for  he  felt  that  this 
was  “ the  beginning  of  the  end.”  Admiral  Porter  says: 
“ Several  regiments  passed  us  en  route,  and  they  all 
seemed  to  recognize  the  President  at  once.  ‘ Three 
cheers  for  Uncle  Abe ! ’ passed  along  among  them,  and 
the  cheers  were  given  with  a vim  which  showed  the 
estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  soldiers.  That 
evening,”  continues  Admiral  Porter,  “ the  sailors  and 
marines  were  sent  out  to  guard  and  escort  in  some 
prisoners,  who  were  placed  on  board  a large  transport 
lying  in  the  stream.  There  were  about  a thousand 
prisoners,  more  or  less.  The  President  expressed  a 
desire  to  go  on  shore.  I ordered  the  barge  and  went 
with  him.  We  had  to  pass  the  transport  with  the 
prisoners.  They  all  rushed  to  the  side  with  eager 
curiosity.  All  wanted  to  see  the  Northern  President. 
They  were  perfectly  content.  Every  man  had  a chunk 
of  meat  and  a piece  of  bread  in  his  hand,  and  was 
doing  his  best  to  dispose  of  it.  ‘ That ’s  Old  Abe,’ 


568  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


said  one,  in  a low  voice.  4 Give  the  old  fellow  three 
cheers,’  said  another ; while  a third  called  out,  4 Hello, 
Abe,  your  bread  and  meat ’s  better  than  pop-corn ! ’ 
It  was  all  good-natured,  and  not  meant  in  unkindness. 
I could  see  no  difference  between  them  and  our  own 
men,  except  that  they  were  ragged  and  attenuated  for 
want  of  wholesome  food.  They  were  as  happy  a 
set  of  men  as  ever  I saw.  They  could  see  their  homes 
looming  up  before  them  in  the  distance,  and  knew  that 
the  war  was  over.  4 They  will  never  shoulder  a musket 
again  in  anger,’  said  the  President,  4 and  if  Grant  is 
wise  he  will  leave  them  their  guns  to  shoot  crows  with. 
It  would  do  no  harm.’  ” 

The  next  day  (April  3)  the  Union  advance,  under 
General  Weitzel,  reached  and  occupied  Richmond. 
Lee  was  in  retreat,  with  Grant  in  close  pursuit.  When 
the  news  of  the  downfall  of  the  Confederate  capital 
reached  Lincoln  on  board  the  44  Malvern,”  he  exclaimed 
fervently : 44  Thank  God  that  I have  lived  to  see  this ! 
It  seems  to  me  I have  been  dreaming  a horrid  dream 
for  four  years,  and  now  the  nightmare  is  gone.  I 
•want  to  see  Richmond  ” 

The  vessel  started  up  the  river,  but  found  it  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  proceed,  as  the  channel  was  filled 
with  torpedoes  and  obstructions,  and  they  were  obliged 
to  wait  until  a passage  could  be  cleared.  Admiral 
Porter  thus  describes  what  followed : 44  When  the  chan- 
nel was  reported  clear  of  torpedoes  (a  large  number 
of  which  were  taken  up),  I proceeded  up  to  Richmond 
in  the  4 Malvern,’  with  President  Lincoln.  Every 
vessel  that  got  through  the  obstructions  wished  to  be 
the  first  one  up,  and  pushed  ahead  with  all  steam ; 
but  they  grounded,  one  after  another,  the  4 Malvern  ’ 
passing  them  all,  until  she  also  took  the  ground.  Not 
to  be  delayed,  I took  the  President  in  my  barge,  and 
with  a tug  ahead  with  a file  of  marines  on  board  we 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  569 


continued  on  up  to  the  city.  There  was  a large  bridge 
across  the  James  about  a mile  below  the  landing,  and 
under  this  a party  in  a small  steamer  were  caught 
and  held  by  the  current,  with  no  prospect  of  release 
without  assistance.  I ordered  the  tug  to  cast  off  and 
help  them,  leaving  us  in  the  barge  to  go  on  alone. 
Here  we  were  in  a solitary  boat,  after  having  set  out 
with  a number  of  vessels  flying  flags  at  every  mast- 
head, hoping  to  enter  the  conquered  capital  in  a man- 
ner befitting  the  rank  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  with  a further  intention  of  firing  a national 
salute  in  honor  of  the  happy  result.  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
cheerful,  and  had  his  4 little  story  ’ ready  for  the  oc- 
casion. 4 Admiral,  this  brings  to  my  mind  a fellow 
who  once  came  to  me  to  ask  for  an  appointment  as 
minister  abroad.  Finding  he  could  not  get  that,  he 
came  down  to  some  more  modest  position.  Finally 
he  asked  to  be  made  a tide-waiter.  When  he  saw  he 
could  not  get  that,  he  asked  me  for  an  old  pair  of 
trousers.  It  is  sometimes  well  to  be  lmmble 

44 1 had  never  been  to  Richmond  before  by  that 
route,”  continues  Admiral  Porter,  44  and  did  not  know 
where  the  landing  was;  neither  did  the  cockswain  nor 
any  of  the  barge’s  crew.  We  pulled  on,  hoping  to  see 
someone  of  whom  we  could  inquire,  but  no  one  was  in 
sight.  The  street  along  the  river-front  was  as  de- 
serted as  if  this  had  been  a city  of  the  dead.  The, 
troops  had  been  in  possession  some  hours,  but  not  a 
soldier  was  to  be  seen.  The  current  was  now  rushing 
past  us  over  and  among  rocks,  on  one  of  which  we 
finally  stuck;  but  I backed  out  and  pointed  for  the 
nearest  landing.  There  was  a small  house  on  this 
landing,  and  behind  it  were  some  twelve  negroes  dig- 
ging with  spades.  The  leader  of  them  was  an  old 
man  sixty  years  of  age.  He  raised  himself  to  an  up- 
right position  as  we  landed,  and  put  his  hands  up  to 


570  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


his  eyes.  Then  he  dropped  his  spade  and  sprang  for- 
ward. ‘ Bress  dc  Lord,’  he  said,  ‘ dere  is  de  great 
Messiah!  I knowed  him  as  soon  as  I seed  him.  He ’s 
bin  in  my  heart  fo’  long  yeahs,  an’  he ’s  cum  at  las’ 
to  free  his  chillun  from  deir  bondage!  Glory,  Halle- 
lujah!’ And  he  fell  upon  his  knees  before  the  Presi- 
dent and  kissed  his  feet.  The  others  followed  his 
example,  and  in  a minute  Mr.  Lincoln  was  surrounded 
by  these  people,  who  had  treasured  up  the  recollection 
of  him  caught  from  a photograph,  and  had  looked  up 
to  him  for  four  years  as  the  one  who  was  to  lead  them 
out  of  captivity.  It  was  a touching  sight  — that  aged 
negro  kneeling  at  the  feet  of  the  tall,  gaunt-looking 
man  who  seemed  in  himself  to  be  bearing  all  the  grief 
of  the  nation,  and  whose  sad  face  seemed  to  say,  ‘ I 
suffer  for  you  all,  but  will  do  all  I can  to  help  you.’ 
Mr.  Lincoln  looked  down  on  the  poor  creatures  at 
his  feet.  He  was  much  embarrassed  at  his  position. 
‘ Don’t  kneel  to  me,’  he  said,  ‘ that  is  not  right.  You 
must  kneel  to  God  only,  and  thank  Him  for  the  liberty 
you  will  hereafter  enjoy.  I am  but  God’s  humble 
instrument ; but  you  may  rest  assured  that  as  long 
as  I live  no  one  shall  put  a shackle  on  your  limbs,  and 
you  shall  have  all  the  rights  which  God  has  given  to 
every  other  free  citizen  of  this  Republic.’  It  was  a 
minute  or  two  before  I could  get  the  negroes  to  rise 
and  leave  the  President.  The  scene  was  so  touching 
that  I hated  to  disturb  it,  yet  we  could  not  stay  there 
all  day ; we  had  to  move  on ; so  I requested  the  pa- 
triarch to  withdraw  from  about  the  President  with  his 
companions,  and  let  us  pass  on.  ‘ Yes,  Mars,’  said 
the  old  man,  ‘ but  after  bein’  so  many  yeahs  in  de 
desert  widout  water,  it ’s  mighty  pleasant  to  be  lookin’ 
at  las’  on  our  spring  of  life.  ’Scuse  us,  sir;  we  means 
no  disrepec’  to  Mars  Lincoln;  we  means  all  love  and 
gratitude.’  And  then,  joining  hands  together  in  a 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  571 


ring,  the  negroes  sang  a hymn,  with  the  melodious  and 
touching  voices  possessed  only  by  the  negroes  of  the 
South.  The  President  and  all  of  us  listened  respect- 
fully while  the  hymn  was  being  sung.  Four  minutes 
at  most  had  passed  away  since  we  first  landed  at  a 
point  where,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  the  streets 
were  entirely  deserted;  but  now  what  a different  scene 
appeared  as  that  hymn  went  forth  from  the  negroes’ 
lips ! The  streets  seemed  to  be  suddenly  alive  with  the 
colored  race.  They  seemed  to  spring  from  the  earth. 
They  came  tumbling  and  shouting,  from  over  the  hills 
and  from  the  water-side,  where  no  one  was  seen  as  we 
had  passed.  The  crowd  immediately  became  very  op- 
pressive. We  needed  our  marines  to  keep  them  off.  I 
ordered  twelve  of  the  boat’s  crew  to  fix  bayonets  to 
their  rifles  and  surround  the  President,  all  of  which 
was  quickly  done ; but  the  crowd  poured  in  so  fearfully 
that  I thought  we  all  stood  a chance  of  being  crushed 
to  death.  At  length  the  President  spoke.  He  could 
not  move  for  the  mass  of  people  — he  had  to  do  some- 
thing. ‘My  poor  friends,’  he  said,  ‘you  are  free  — 
free  as  air.  You  can  cast  off  the  name  of  slave  and 
trample  upon  it ; it  will  come  to  you  no  more.  Lib- 
erty is  your  birthright.  God  gave  it  to  you  as  He 
gave  it  to  others,  and  it  is  a sin  that  you  have  been 
deprived  of  it  for  so  many  years.  But  you  must  try 
to  deserve  this  priceless  boon.  Let  the  world  see  that 
you  merit  it,  and  are  able  to  maintain  it  by  your  good 
works.  Don’t  let  your  joy  carry  you  into  excesses. 
Learn  the  laws  and  obey  them ; obey  God’s  command- 
ments and  thank  Him  for  giving  you  liberty,  for  to 
Him  you  owe  all  things.  There,  now,  let  me  pass  on ; 
I have  but  little  time  to  spare.  I want  to  see  the 
capital,  and  must  return  at  once  to  Washington  to 
secure  to  you  that  liberty  which  you  seem  to  prize  so 
highly.’  The  crowd  shouted  and  screeched  as  if  they 


572  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


would  split  the  firmament,  though  while  the  President 
was  speaking  you  might  have  heard  a pin  drop.” 

Presently  the  little  party  was  able  to  move  on. 
“ It  never  struck  me,”  says  Admiral  Porter,  “ there 
was  anyone  in  that  multitude  who  would  injure  Mr. 
Lincoln;  it  seemed  to  me  that  he  had  an  army  of 
supporters  there  who  could  and  would  defend  him 
against  all  the  world.  Our  progress  was  very  slow; 
we  did  not  move  a mile  an  hour,  and  the  crowd  was 
still  increasing.  It  was  a warm  day,  and  the  streets 
were  dusty,  owing  to  the  immense  gathering  which 
covered  every  part  of  them,  kicking  up  the  dirt.  The 
atmosphere  was  suffocating;  but  Mr.  Lincoln  could 
be  seen  plainly  by  every  man,  woman,  and  child,  tower- 
ing head  and  shoulders  above  that  crowd;  he  over- 
topped every  man  there.  He  carried  his  hat  in  his 
hand,  fanning  his  face,  from  which  the  perspiration 
was  pouring.  He  looked  as  if  he  would  have  given  his 
Presidency  for  a glass  of  water  — I would  have  given 
my  commission  for  half  that. 

“ Now  came  another  phase  in  the  procession.  As 
we  entered  the  city  every  window  flew  up,  from  ground 
to  roof,  and  every  one  was  filled  with  eager,  peering 
faces,  which  turned  one  to  another,  and  seemed  to 
ask,  ‘ Is  this  large  man,  with  soft  eyes,  and  kind,  be- 
nevolent face,  the  one  who  has  been  held  up  to  us 
as  the  incarnation  of  wickedness,  the  destroyer  of  the 
South?  ’ There  was  nothing  like  taunt  or  defiance  in 
the  faces  of  those  who  were  gazing  from  the  windows 
or  craning  their  necks  from  the  sidewalks  to  catch 
a view  of  the  President.  The  look  of  every  one  was 
that  of  eager  curiosity  — nothing  more.  In  a short 
time  we  reached  the  mansion  of  Mr.  Davis,  President 
of  the  Confederacy,  occupied  after  the  evacuation  as 
the  headquarters  of  General  Weitzel  and  Shepley. 
There  was  great  cheering  going  on.  Hundreds  of 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  573 


civilians  — I don’t  know  who  they  were  — assembled 
at  the  front  of  the  house  to  welcome  Mr.  Lincoln.  Gen- 
eral Shepley  made  a speech  and  gave  us  a lunch,  after 
which  we  entered  a carriage  and  visited  the  State 
House  — the  late  seat  of  the  Confederate  Congress. 
It  was  in  dreadful  disorder,  betokening  a sudden  and 
unexpected  flight ; members’  tables  were  upset,  bales 
of  Confederate  scrip  were  lying  about  the  floor,  and 
many  official  documents  of  some  value  were  scattered 
about. 

“ After  this  inspection  I urged  the  President  to  go 
on  board  the  ‘ Malvern.’  I began  to  feel  more  heavily 
the  responsibility  resting  upon  me  through  the  care 
of  his  person.  ‘The  evening  was  approaching,  and  we 
were  in  a carriage  open  on  all  sides.  He  was  glad  to 
go ; he  was  tired  out,  and  wanted  the  quiet  of  the 
flag-ship.  I was  oppressed  with  uneasiness  until  we 
got  on  board  and  stood  on  the  deck  with  the  President 
safe;  then  there  was  not  a happier  man  anywhere 
than  myself.” 

On  Sunday,  April  9,  the  President  returned  to 
Washington;  and  there  he  heard  the  thrilling  news 
that  Lee,  with  his  whole  army,  had  that  day  surren- 
dered to  Grant  at  Appomattox.  Lincoln’s  first  visit, 
after  reaching  the  capital,  was  to  the  house  of  Secre- 
tary Seward,  who  had  met  with  a severe  accident  dur- 
ing his  absence,  and  was  a prisoner  in  a sick  room. 
Lincoln’s  heart  was  full  of  joy,  and  he  entered  im- 
mediately upon  an  account  of  his  visit  to  Richmond 
and  the  glorious  successes  of  the  Union  army ; “ throw- 
ing himself,”  as  Mr.  Carpenter  says,  “ in  his  almost 
boyish  exultation,  at  full  length  across  the  bed,  sup- 
porting his  head  upon  one  hand,  and  in  this  manner 
reciting  the  story  of  the  collapse  of  the  Rebellion. 
Concluding,  he  lifted  himself  up  and  said,  ‘ And  now 
for  a day  of  Thanksgiving ! ’ ” 


574  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


In  Washington,  as  in  every  city  and  town  in  the 
loyal  States,  there  was  the  wildest  enthusiasm  over 
the  good  news  from  the  army.  Flags  were  flying  every- 
where, cannon  were  sounding,  business  was  suspended, 
and  the  people  gave  themselves  up  to  the  impulses 
of  joy  and  thanksgiving.  Monday  afternoon  the  work- 
men of  the  navy-yard  marched  to  the  White  House, 
joining  the  thousands  already  there,  and  with  bands 
playing  and  a tumult  of  rejoicing,  called  persistently 
for  the  President.  After  some  delay  Lincoln  appeared 
at  the  window  above  the  main  entrance,  and  was  greeted 
with  loud  and  prolonged  cheers  and  demonstrations 
of  love  and  respect.  He  declined  to  make  a formal 
speech,  saying  to  the  excited  throng  beneath: 

I am  very  greatly  rejoiced  that  an  occasion  has 
occurred  so  pleasurable  that  the  people  can’t  restrain 
themselves.  I suppose  that  arrangements  are  being 
made  for  some  sort  of  formal  demonstration,  perhaps 
this  evening  or  to-morrow  night.  If  there  should  be 
such  a demonstration,  I,  of  course,  shall  have  to  respond 
to  it,  and  I shall  have  nothing  to  say  if  I dribble  it  out 
before.  I see  you  have  a band.  I propose  now  closing 
up  by  requesting  you  to  play  a certain  air  or  tune.  I 
have  always  thought  “ Dixie  ” one  of  the  best  tunes  I 
ever  heard.  I have  heard  that  our  adversaries  over  the 
way  have  attempted  to  appropriate  it  as  a national  air. 
I insisted  yesterday  that  we  had  fairly  captured  it.  I 
presented  the  question  to  the  Attorney-General,  and  he 
gave  his  opinion  that  it  is  our  lawful  prize.  I ask  the 
band  to  give  us  a good  turn  upon  it. 

The  band  did  give  “ a good  turn  ” not  only  to 
“ Dixie,”  but  to  the  whimsical  tune  of  “ Yankee 
Doodle,”  after  which  Lincoln  proposed  three  cheers 
for  General  Grant  and  all  under  his  command ; and 
then  “ three  more  cheers  for  our  gallant  navy,”  at  the 
close  of  which  he  bowed  and  retired  amid  the  inspiring 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  575 


strains  of  “ Hail  Columbia  ” discoursed  with  vigor  by 
the  patriotic  musicians. 

As  additional  despatches  were  received  from  ithe 
army,  the  joyful  excitement  in  Washington  increased. 
Tuesday  evening,  April  11,  the  President’s  mansion, 
the  Executive  Departments,  and  many  of  the  business 
places  and  private  residences,  were  illuminated,  bon- 
fires were  kindled,  and  fireworks  sent  off,  in  celebration 
of  the  great  event  which  stirred  the  hearts  of  the 
people.  A vast  mass  of  citizens  crowded  about  the 
White  House,  as  Lincoln  appeared  at  the  historic  East 
window  and  made  his  last  speech  to  the  American 
public.  It  was  a somewhat  lengthy  address,  and  had 
been  prepared  and  written  out  for  the  occasion.  “ We 
meet  this  evening,  not  in  sorrow  but  in  gladness  of 
heart,”  began  the  President.  “ No  part  of  the  honor 
or  praise  is  mine.  To  General  Grant,  his  skilful  offi- 
cers and  brave  men,  all  belongs.”  Mr.  Brooks,  who 
was  in  the  White  House  during  the  delivery  of  this 
address,  gives  the  following  glimpses  behind  the  scenes : 
“ As  Lincoln  spoke,  the  multitude  was  as  silent  as  if 
the  court-yard  had  been  deserted.  Then,  as  his  speech 
was  written  on  loose  sheets,  and  the  candles  placed  for 
him  were  too  low,  he  took  a light  in  his  hand  and  went 
on  with  his  reading.  Soon  coming  to  the  end  of  a 
page,  he  found  some  difficulty  in  handling  the  manu- 
script and  holding  the  candlestick.  A friend  who  stood 
behind  the  drapery  of  the  window  reached  out  and 
took  the  candle,  and  held  it  until  the  end  of  the  speech, 
and  the  President  let  the  loose  pages  fall  on  the  floor, 
one  by  one,  as  fast  as  he  was  through  with  them. 
Presently  Tad,  having  refreshed  himself  at  the  dinner- 
table,  came  back  in  search  of  amusement.  He  gathered 
up  the  scattered  sheets  of  the  President’s  speech,  and 
then  amused  himself  by  chasing  the  leaves  as  they 
fluttered  from  the  speaker’s  hand.  Growing  impatient 


576  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


at  his  father’s  delay  to  drop  another  page,  Tad  whis- 
pered, ‘ Come,  give  me  another ! ’ The  President  made 
a queer  motion  with  his  foot  toward  the  boy,  but  other- 
wise showed  no  sign  that  he  had  other  thoughts  than 
those  which  he  was  dropping  to  the  listeners  beneath. 
Without  was  a vast  sea  of  upturned  faces,  each  eye 
fixed  on  the  form  of  the  President.  Around  the  tall 
white  pillars  of  the  portico  flowed  an  undulating  sur- 
face of  human  beings,  stirred  by  emotion  and  lighted 
with  the  fantastic  colors  of  fireworks.  At  the  window, 
his  face  irradiated  with  patriotic  joy,  was  the  much- 
beloved  Lincoln,  reading  the  speech  that  was  to  be  his 
last  to  the  people.  Behind  him  crept  back  and  forth, 
on  his  hands  and  knees,  the  boy  of  the  White  House, 
gathering  up  his  father’s  carefully  written  pages,  and 
occasionally  lifting  up  his  eager  face  waiting  for  more. 
It  was  before  and  behind  the  scenes.  Sometimes  I 
wonder,  when  I recall  that  night,  how  much  of  a father’s 
love  and  thought  of  his  boy  might  have  been  mingled 
in  Lincoln’s  last  speech  to  the  eager  multitude.” 

The  President’s  speech  on  this  occasion  was  largely 
devoted  to  the  impending  problem  of  Reconstruction 
in  the  South.  The  problem  was  complex  and  difficult, 
with  no  recognized  principles  or  precedent  for  guidance. 
Said  Lincoln : “ Unlike  the  case  of  a war  between 

independent  nations,  there  is  no  authorized  organiza- 
tion for  us  to  treat  with.  No  one  man  has  authority 
to  give  up  the  rebellion  for  any  other  man.  We 
simply  must  begin  with  and  mould  from  disorganized 
and  discordant  elements.  Nor  is  it  a small  additional 
embarrassment,  that  we,  the  loyal  people,  differ 
amongst  ourselves  as  to  the  mode,  manner,  and 
measure  of  reconstruction.  Let  us  all  join  in  doing 
the  acts  necessary  to  restoring  the  proper  practical 
relations  between  these  States  and  the  Union.”  The 
problem  thus  touched  upon  was  one  that  had  long 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  577 


occupied  the  thoughts  of  Lincoln,  especially  since  the 
downfall  of  the  Confederacy  had  been  imminent.  His 
practical  and  far-seeing  mind  was  already  addressing 
itself  to  the  new  issues,  duties,  and  responsibilities, 
which  he  saw  opening  before  him,  and  which  he  well 
knew  would  demand  all  of  his  wisdom,  firmness,  and 
political  sagacity.  As  was  to  be  expected,  a great 
diversity  of  views  prevailed.  A powerful  faction  in 
Congress,  sympathized  with  by  some  members  of  the 
Cabinet,  was  for  “ making  treason  odious  ” and  deal- 
ing with  the  insurgent  States  as  conquered  provinces 
that  had  forfeited  all  rights  once  held  under  the  Con- 
stitution and  were  entitled  only  to  such  treatment  as 
the  Government  chose  to  give  them.  Lincoln’s  ideas 
were  very  different.  His  mind  was  occupied  with  for- 
mulating a policy  having  for  its  object  the  welfare 
of  the  Southern  people  and  the  restoration  of  the 
rebellious  States  to  the  Union.  His  broad  and  states- 
manlike views  were  outlined,  the  day  after  the  public 
address  just  referred  to,  in  discussing  Secretary 
Welles’s  plans  for  convening  the  legislature  of  Virginia. 
Says  Mr.  Welles  in  his  Diary:  “ His  idea  was  that  the 
members  of  the  legislature,  comprising  the  prominent 
and  influential  men  of  their  respective  counties,  had 
better  come  together  and  undo  their  own  work.  Civil 
government  must  be  reestablished,  he  said,  as  soon  as 
possible;  there  must  be  courts,  and  law  and  order,  or 
societjr  would  be  broken  up,  the  disbanded  armies  would 
turn  into  robber  bands  and  guerillas,  which  we  must 
strive  to  prevent.  These  were  the  reasons  why  he 
wished  prominent  Virginians  who  had  the  confidence 
of  the  people  to  come  together  and  turn  themselves  and 
their  neighbors  into  good  Union  men.”  Lincoln  had 
no  thought  of  leaving  any  of  these  questions  to  the 
military  authorities.  In  March  he  had  directed  a 
despatch  from  Stanton  to  Grant,  saying:  M The  Presi- 


578  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


dent  wishes  you  to  have  no  conference  with  General 
Lee,  unless  it  be  for  the  capitulation  of  his  army,  or 
on  some  other  minor  and  purely  military  matter.  He 
instructs  me  to  say  that  you  are  not  to  decide,  discuss, 
or  confer  upon  any  political  question.  Such  questions 
the  President  holds  in  his  own  hands,  and  will  submit 
them  to  no  military  conferences  or  conventions.”  Dur- 
ing his  meeting  with  Grant  at  Petersburg  the  President 
revealed  to  the  General  many  of  his  plans  for  the 
rehabilitation  of  the  South,  and  it  could  easily  be  seen 
that  a spirit  of  magnanimity  was  uppermost  in  his 
heart.  And  at  the  conference  with  Grant,  Sherman, 
and  Porter,  on  board  the  “ River  Queen,”  the  same 
subject  was  broached.  “ Though  I cannot  attempt  to 
recall  the  words  spoken  by  any  one  of  the  persons 
present  on  that  occasion,”  says  General  Sherman,  “ I 
know  we  talked  generally  about  what  was  to  be  done 
when  Lee’s  and  Johnston’s  armies  were  beaten  and  dis- 
persed. On  this  point  Mr.  Lincoln  was  very  full.  He 
said  that  he  had  long  thought  of  it,  that  he  hoped  this 
end  could  be  reached  without  more  bloodshed,  but  in 
any  event  he  wanted  us  to  get  the  men  of  the  Southern 
armies  disarmed  and  back  to  their  homes ; that  he 
contemplated  no  revenge,  no  harsh  measures,  but  quite 
the  contrary,  and  that  their  suffering  and  hardships 
during  the  war  would  make  them  the  more  submissive 
to  law.”  Says  Hon.  George  Bancroft:  “It  was  the 
nature  of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  forgive.  When  hostilities 
ceased  he  who  had  always  sent  forth  the  flag  with 
every  one  of  its  stars  in  the  field  was  eager  to  receive 
back  his  returning  countrymen.” 

One  of  the  last  stories  of  personal  interviews  with 
President  Lincoln  relates  to  his  feeling  of  clemency 
for  the  men  lately  in  rebellion.  It  is  told  by  Senator 
Henderson  of  Missouri.  “ About  the  middle  of  March, 
1865,”  says  Senator  Henderson,  “ I went  to  the  White 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  579 


House  to  ask  the  President  to  pardon  a number  of 
men  who  had  been  languishing  in  Missouri  prisons  for 
various  offenses,  all  political.  Some  of  them  had  been 
my  schoolmates,  and  their  mothers  and  sisters  and 
sweethearts  had  persisted  in  appeals  that  I should  use 
my  influence  for  their  release.  Since  it  was  evident 
to  me  that  the  Confederacy  was  in  its  last  throes,  I 
felt  that  the  pardon  of  most  of  these  prisoners  would 
do  more  good  than  harm.  I had  separated  them,  ac- 
cording to  the  gravity  of  their  offenses,  into  three 
classes ; and  handing  the  first  list  to  him,  I said,  ‘ Mr. 
President,  the  session  of  the  Senate  is  closed,  and  I am 
about  to  start  for  home.  The  war  is  virtually  over. 
Grant  is  pretty  certain  to  get  Lee  and  his  army,  and 
Sherman  is  plainly  able  to  take  care  of  Johnston.  In 
my  opinion  the  best  way  to  prevent  guerilla  warfare 
at  the  end  of  organized  resistance  will  be  to  show 
clemency  to  these  Southern  sympathizers.’  Lincoln 
shook  his  head  and  said,  ‘ Henderson,  I am  deeply  in- 
debted to  you,  and  I want  to  show  it ; but  don’t  ask 
me  at  this  time  to  pardon  rebels.  I can’t  do  it. 
People  are  continually  blaming  me  for  being  too  lenient. 
Don’t  encourage  such  fellows  by  inducing  me  to  turn 
loose  a lot  of  men  who  perhaps  ought  to  be  hanged.’ 
I answered,  ‘ Mr.  President,  these  prisoners  and  their 
friends  tell  me  that  for  them  the  war  is  over;  and  it 
will  surely  have  a good  influence  now  to  let  them  go.’ 
Fie  replied,  ‘ Henderson,  my  conscience  tells  me  that 
I must  not  do  it.’  But  I persisted.  ‘ Mr.  President, 
you  should  do  it.  It  is  necessary  for  good  feeling  in 
Missouri  that  these  people  be  released.’  ‘ If  I sign 
this  list  as  a whole,  will  you  be  responsible  for  the 
future  good  behavior  of  these  men?  ’ he  asked.  ‘Yes,’ 
I replied,  ‘ I will.’  4 Then  I ’ll  take  the  risk.’  He  wrote 
the  word  Pardoned,  signed  the  order  of  release,  and 
returned  the  paper  to  me.  ‘ Thank  you,  Mr.  Presi- 


580  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


dent,’  I said,  4 but  that  is  not  all.  I have  another  list.’ 
4 You  ’re  not  going  to  make  me  let  loose  another  lot!  ’ 
he  exclaimed.  4 Yes,’  I answered,  4 and  my  argument 
is  the  same  as  before.  The  guilt  of  these  men  is  doubt- 
ful. Mercy  must  be  the  policy  of  peace.’  With  the 
only  words  approaching  profanity  that  I ever  heard 
him  utter,  he  exclaimed,  ‘ I ’ll  be  durned  if  I don’t  sign 
it!  Now,  Henderson,’  he  said,  as  he  handed  me  the  list, 
‘ remember  that  you  are  responsible  to  me  for  these 
men,  and  if  they  don’t  behave  I ’ll  put  you  in  prison 
for  their  sins’  ” 

Lincoln’s  whole  feeling  toward  the  vanquished  South- 
ern people  was  one  of  peace  and  magnanimity.  While 
many  were  clamoring  for  the  execution  of  the  Southern 
leaders,  and  especially  Jefferson  Davis,  Lincoln  said, 
only  a day  or  two  before  his  death:  “ This  talk  about 
Mr.  Davis  wearies  me.  I hope  he  will  mount  a fleet 
horse,  reach  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  ride 
so  far  into  its  waters  that  we  shall  never  see  him  again.” 
And  then  he  told  a pat  story  - — perhaps  his  last  — 
of  a boy  in  Springfield,  44  who  saved  up  his  money  and 
bought  a 4 coon,’  which,  after  the  novelty  wore  off, 
became  a great  nuisance.  He  was  one  day  leading  him 
through  the  streets,  and  had  his  hands  full  to  keep 
clear  of  the  little  vixen,  who  had  torn  his  clothes  half 
off  him.  At  length  he  sat  down  on  the  curb-stone, 
completely  fagged  out.  A man  passing  was  stopped 
by  the  lad’s  disconsolate  appearance,  and  asked  the 
matter.  4 Oh,’  was  the  only  reply,  ‘ this  coon  is  such 
a trouble  to  me ! ’ 4 Why  don’t  you  get  rid  of  him, 

then?’  said  the  gentleman.  ‘Hush!’  said  the  boy, 
4 don’t  you  see  he  is  gnawing  his  rope  off?  I am  going 
to  let  him  do  it,  and  then  I will  go  home  and  tell  the 
folks  that  he  got  away  from  me.’  ” 

At  the  last  Cabinet  meeting  ever  attended  by  Lin- 
coln, held  in  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  he  was 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  581 


shot,  the  subject  of  Reconstruction  was  again  upper- 
most, and  various  plans  were  presented  and  discussed. 
Secretary  Stanton  brought  forward  a plan  or  ordi- 
nance which  he  said  he  had  prepared  with  much  care 
and  after  a great  deal  of  reflection.  It  was  arranged 
that  a copy  of  this  should  be  furnished  to  each  mem- 
ber of  the  Cabinet,  for  criticism  and  suggestion.  “ In 
the  meantime,”  says  Secretary  Welles,  “ we  were  re- 
quested by  the  President  to  deliberate  and  carefully 
consider  the  proposition.  He  remarked  that  this  was 
the  great  question  now  before  us,  and  we  must  soon 
begin  to  act.”  What  that  action  would  have  been  had 
Lincoln  lived  — what  wrong  and  misery  would  have 
been  spared  to  the  South  and  shame  and  dishonor  to 
the  North  — no  one  can  doubt  who  comprehends  the 
fibre  of  that  kindly,  just,  and  indomitable  soul. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 


The  Last  of  Earth  — Events  of  the  Last  Day  of  Lincoln’s  Life  — The 
Last  Cabinet  Meeting  — The  Last  Drive  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  — 
Incidents  of  the  Afternoon  — Riddance  to  Jacob  Thompson  — A 
Final  Act  of  Pardon  — The  Fatal  Evening  — The  Visit  to  the  The- 
atre — The  Assassin’s  Shot  — A Scene  of  Horror  — Particulars  of 
the  Crime  — The  Dying  President  — ■ A Nation’s  Grief  — Funeral 
Obsequies  — The  Return  to  Illinois  — At  Rest  in  Oak  Ridge 
Cemetery. 

IT  is  something  to  be  ever  gratefully  remembered, 
that  the  last  day  of  Lincoln’s  life  was  filled  with 
sunshine.  His  cares  and  burdens  slipped  from  him  like 
a garment,  and  his  spirit  was  filled  with  a blessed  and 
benignant  peace. 

On  the  morning  of  that  fatal  Friday,  the  14th  day 
of  April,  the  President  had  a long  conversation  at 
breakfast  with  his  son  Robert,  then  a member  of  Grant’s 
staff,  who  had  just  arrived  from  the  front  with  addi- 
tional particulars  of  Lee’s  surrender,  of  which  event 
he  had  been  a witness.  The  President  listened  with 
close  attention  to  the  interesting  recital;  then,  taking 
up  a portrait  of  General  Lee,  which  his  son  had  brought 
him,  he  placed  it  on  the  table  before  him,  where  he 
scanned  it  long  and  thoughtfully.  Presently  he  said : 
“ It  is  a good  face.  It  is  the  face  of  a noble,  brave 
man.  I am  glad  that  the  Avar  is  over  at  last.”  Look- 
ing upon  Robert,  he  continued:  “Well,  my  son,  you 
have  returned  safely  from  the  front.  The  war  is  now 
closed,  and  we  will  soon  live  in  peace  with  the  brave 
men  who  have  been  fighting  against  us.  I trust  that 
the  era  of  good  feeling  has  returned,  and  that  hence- 
forth we  shall  live  in  harmony  together.” 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  583 


After  breakfast  the  President  received  Speaker  Col- 
fax, spending  an  hour  or  more  in  discussing  his  plans 
regarding  the  adjustment  of  matters  in  the  South. 
This  was  followed  by  an  interview  with  Hon.  John  P. 
Hale,  the  newly  appointed  Minister  to  Spain,  and  by 
calls  of  congratulation  from  members  of  Congress  and 
old  friends  fi’om  Illinois.  Afterwards  he  took  a short 
drive  with  General  Grant,  who  had  just  come  to  the 
city  to  consult  regarding  the  disbandment  of  the  army 
and  the  parole  of  prisoners.  The  people  were  wild 
with  enthusiasm,  and  wherever  the  President  and  Gen- 
eral Grant  appeared  they  were  greeted  with  cheers, 
the  clapping  of  hands,  waving  of  handkerchiefs,  and 
every  possible  demonstration  of  delight. 

At  the  Cabinet  meeting  held  at  noon  the  President 
was  accompanied  by  General  Grant.  The  meeting  is 
thus  described  by  one  who  was  present,  Secretary 
Welles : “ Congratulations  were  interchanged,  and  ear- 
nest inquirjr  was  made  whether  any  information  had 
been  received  from  General  Sherman.  General  Grant, 
who  was  invited  to  remain,  said  he  was  expecting  hourly 
to  hear  from  Sherman,  and  had  a good  deal  of  anxiety 
on  the  subject.  The  President  remarked  that  the  news 
would  come  soon  and  come  favorably,  he  had  no  doubt, 
for  he  had  last  night  his  usual  dream  which  had  pre- 
ceded nearly  every  important  event  of  the  war.  I 
inquired  the  particulars  of  this  remarkable  dream.  He 
said  it  was  in  my  department  — it  related  to  the 
water ; that  he  seemed  to  be  in  a singular  and  inde- 
scribable vessel,  but  always  the  same,  and  that  he  was 
moving  with  great  rapidity  toward  a dark  and  in- 
definite shore ; that  he  had  had  this  singular  dream 
preceding  the  firing  on  Sumter,  the  battles  of  Bull 
Run,  Antietam,  Gettysburg,  Stone  River,  Vicksburg, 
Wilmington,  etc.  General  Grant  remarked,  with  some 
emphasis  and  asperity,  that  Stone  River  was  no  vie- 


584  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 

tory  — that  a few  such  victories  would  have  ruined  the 
country,  and  he  knew  of  no  important  results  from 
it.  The  President  said  that  perhaps  he  should  not 
altogether  agree  with  him,  but  whatever  might  be  the 
facts  his  singular  di'eam  preceded  that  fight.  Victory 
did  not  always  follow  his  dream,  but  the  event  and 
results  were  important.  He  had  no  doubt  that  a 
battle  had  taken  place  or  was  about  being  fought,  ‘ and 
Johnston  will  be  beaten,  for  I had  this  strange  di’eam 
again  last  night.  It  must  relate  to  Sherman ; my 
thoughts  are  in  that  direction,  and  I know  of  no  other 
very  important  event  which  is  likely  just  now  to 
occur.'  ” “ Great  events,”  adds  Mr.  Welles  in  his 
Diary,  “ did  indeed  follow ; for  within  a few  hours  the 
good  and  gentle  as  well  as  truly  great  man  who  nar- 
rated his  dream  closed  forever  his  earthly  career.” 

After  the  Cabinet  meeting  the  President  took  a drive 
with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  expressing  a wish  that  no  one 
should  accompany  them.  His  heart  was  filled  with  a 
solemn  joy,  wThich  awoke  memories  of  the  past  to 
mingle  with  hopes  for  the  future;  and  in  this  subdued 
moment  he  desired  to  be  alone  with  the  one  who  stood 
nearest  to  him  in  human  relationship.  In  the  course 
of  their  talk  together,  he  said : “ Mary,  we  have  had 
a hard  time  of  it  since  we  came  to  Washington;  but 
the  war  is  over,  and  with  God’s  blessing  we  may  hope 
for  four  years  of  peace  and  happiness,  and  then  we 
will  go  back  to  Illinois  and  pass  the  rest  of  our  lives 
in  quiet.”  He  spoke,  says  Mr.  Arnold,  “ of  his  old 
Springfield  home ; and  recollections  of  his  early  days, 
his  little  brown  cottage,  the  law  office,  the  court  room, 
the  green  bag  for  his  briefs  and  law  papers,  his  ad- 
ventures when  riding  the  circuit,  came  thronging  back 
to  him.  The  tension  under  which  he  had  for  so  long 
been  kept  was  removed,  and  he  was  like  a boy  out  of 
school.  ‘ We  have  laid  by,’  said  he  to  his  wife,  ‘ some 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  585 


money,  and  during  this  term  we  will  try  and  save  up 
more,  but  shall  not  have  enough  to  support  us.  We 
will  go  back  to  Illinois,  and  I will  open  a law  office 
at  Springfield  or  Chicago,  and  practise  law,  and  at 
least  do  enough  to  help  give  us  a livelihood.’  Such 
were  the  dreams,  the  day-dreams  of  Lincoln,  on  the 
last  day  of  his  earthly  life.” 

Mr.  Neill,  the  President’s  private  secretary,  states 
that  between  three  and  four  o’clock  of  this  day  he  had 
occasion  to  seek  the  President  to  procure  his  signature 
to  a paper.  “ I found,”  says  Mr.  Neill,  “ that  he  had 
retired  to  the  private  parlor  of  the  house  for  lunch. 
While  I was  looking  over  the  papers  on  his  table,  to 
see  if  I could  find  the  desired  commission,  he  came 
back,  eating  an  apple.  I told  him  what  I was  looking 
for,  and  as  I talked  he  placed  his  hand  upon  the  bell- 
pull.  I said:  ‘For  whom  are  you  going  to  ring?’ 
Placing  his  hand  upon  my  coat,  he  spoke  but  two 
words:  ‘Andrew  Johnson.’  ‘Then,’  I said,  ‘I  will 
come  in  again.’  As  I was  leaving  the  room,  the  Vice- 
President  had  been  ushered  in,  and  the  President  ad- 
vanced and  took  him  by  the  hand.” 

Charles  A.  Dana,  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  War, 
says  that  his  last  recollections  of  President  Lincoln 
are  indelibly  associated  with  the  seditious  Jacob  Thomp- 
son. “ Late  in  the  afternoon,”  says  Mr.  Dana,  “ a 
despatch  was  received  at  the  War  Department  from 
the  provost  marshal  of  Portland,  Maine,  saying  that 
he  had  received  information  that  Jacob  Thompson 
would  arrive  in  Portland  during  that  night,  in  order 
to  take  there  the  Canadian  steamer  which  was  to  sail 
for  Liverpool.  On  reading  this  despatch  to  Mr.  Stan- 
ton, the  latter  said,  ‘ Order  him  to  be  arrested  — but 
no ; you  had  better  take  it  over  to  the  President.’  I 
found  Mr.  Lincoln  in  the  inner  room  of  his  business 
office  at  the  White  House,  with  his  coat  off,  washing 


586  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


his  hands  preparatory  to  a drive.  ‘ Hello,’  said  he, 
‘what  is  it?’  Listening  to  the  despatch,  he  asked, 
‘What  does  Stanton  say?’  ‘He  thinks  he  ought  to 
be  arrested,’  I replied.  ‘ Well,’  he  continued,  drawling 
his  words,  ‘ I rather  guess  not.  When  you  have  an 
elephant  on  your  hands,  and  he  wants  to  run  away, 
better  let  him  run.’  ” 

During  the  afternoon  the  President  signed  a pardon 
for  a soldier  sentenced  to  be  shot  for  desertion;  re- 
marking, as  he  did  so,  “ Well,  I think  the  boy  can  do 
us  more  good  above  ground  than  under  ground.”  He 
also  approved  an  application  for  the  discharge,  on  tak- 
ing the  oath  of  allegiance,  of  a Southern  prisoner,  on 
whose  petition  he  wrote,  “ Let  it  be  done.”  This  act 
of  mercy  was  his  last  official  order. 

It  had  been  decided  early  in  the  day  that  the  Presi- 
dent and  Mrs.  Lincoln  would  attend  Ford’s  Theatre 
in  the  evening,  to  witness  the  play  of  “ The  American 
Cousin.”  Lincoln  had  invited  General  Grant  to  ac- 
company his  party  to  the  theatre,  saying  that  the 
people  would  expect  to  see  him  and  should  not  be 
disappointed.  But  the  General  had  declined,  as  Mrs. 
Grant  was  anxious  to  start  that  afternoon  to  visit 
their  children,  who  were  at  school  in  Burlington,  New 
Jersey. 

As  the  hour  approached  for  leaving  for  the  theatre, 
the  President  was  engaged  in  a conversation  with  two 
friends  — Speaker  Colfax  and  Hon.  George  Ashmun 
of  Massachusetts.  The  business  on  which  they  had 
met  not  being  concluded,  the  President  gave  Mr.  Ash- 
mun a card  on  which  he  had  written  these  words  : 
“ Allow  Mr.  Ashmun  and  friend  to  come  in  at  9 a.  m. 
to-morrow  — A.  Lincoln.”  He  then  turned  to  Mr. 
Colfax,  saying,  “ You  are  going  with  Mrs.  Lincoln 
and  me  to  the  theatre,  I hope.”  Mr.  Colfax  pleaded 
other  engagements,  when  Lincoln  remarked : “ Mr.  Sum- 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  587 

ner  has  the  gavel  of  the  Confederate  Congress,  which 
he  got  at  Richmond  to  hand  to  the  Secretary  of  War. 
But  I insisted  then  that  he  must  give  it  to  you ; and 
you  tell  him  for  me  to  hand  it  over.”  He  then  rose, 
but  seemed  reluctant  to  go,  expressing  a half-determina- 
tion to  delay  a while  longer.  It  was  undoubtedly  to 
avoid  disappointing  the  audience,  to  whom  his  presence 
had  been  promised,  that  he  went  to  the  play-house 
that  night.  At  the  door  he  stopped  and  said  to 
Speaker  Colfax,  who  was  about  to  leave  for  the  Pacific 
coast,  “ Colfax,  do  not  forget  to  tell  the  people  in  the 
mining  regions,  as  you  pass  through,  what  I told  you 
this  morning  about  the  development  w'hen  peace  comes. 
I will  telegraph  you  at  San  Francisco.” 

It  was  nine  o’clock  when  the  Presidential  party 
reached  the  theatre.  The  place  was  crowded ; “ many 
ladies  in  rich  and  gay  costumes,  officers  in  their  uni- 
forms, many  well-known  citizens,  young  folks,  the 
usual  clusters  of  gaslights,  the  usual  magnetism  of 
so  many  people,  cheerful,  with  perfumes,  music  of 
violins  and  flutes  — and  over  all,  and  saturating  all, 
that  vast,  vague  wonder,  Victory,  the  Nation’s  victory, 
the  triumph  of  the  Union,  filling  the  air,  the  thought, 
the  sense,  with  exhilaration  more  than  all  perfumes.” 
As  the  President  entered  he  was  greeted  with  tremen- 
dous cheers,  to  which  he  responded  with  genial  cour- 
tesy. The  box  reserved  for  him,  at  the  right  of  the 
stage,  a little  above  the  floor,  was  draped  and  festooned 
with  flags.  As  the  party  were  seated,  the  daughter 
of  Senator  Harris  of  New  York  occupied  the  corner 
nearest  the  stage ; next  her  was  Mrs.  Lincoln ; and 
behind  them  sat  the  President  and  Major  Rathbone, 
the  former  being  nearest  the  door. 

In  his  quiet  chair  he  sate, 

Pure  of  malice  or  guile, 


588  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 

Stainless  of  fear  or  hate ; 

And  there  played  a pleasant  smile 
On  the  rough  and  careworn  face,  — 

For  his  heart  was  all  the  while 
On  means  of  mercy  and  grace. 

The  brave  old  flag  drooped  o’er  him,  — • 

A fold  in  the  hard  hand  lay ; 

He  looked  perchance  on  the  play,  ■ — - 
But  the  scene  was  a shadow  before  him, 

For  his  thoughts  were  far  away. 

It  was  half-past  ten  o’clock,  and  the  audience  was 
absorbed  in  the  progress  of  the  play,  when  suddenly 
a pistol  shot,  loud  and  sharp,  rang  through  the  theatre. 
All  eyes  were  instantly  directed  toward  the  President’s 
box,  whence  the  report  proceeded.  A moment  later, 
the  figure  of  a man,  holding  a smoking  pistol  in  one 
hand  and  a dagger  in  the  other,  appeared  at  the  front 
of  the  President’s  box,  and  sprang  to  the  stage,  some 
eight  or  ten  feet  below,  shouting  as  he  did  so,  “ Sic 
semper  tyrannis!  ” He  fell  as  he  struck  the  stage;  but 
quickly  recovering  himself,  sprang  through  the  side- 
wings  and  escaped  from  the  theatre  by  a rear  door. 

At  the  moment  of  the  assassination  a single  actor, 
Mr.  Hawk,  was  on  the  stage.  In  his  account  of  the 
tragical  event  he  says : “ When  I heard  the  shot  fired, 
I turned,  looked  up  at  the  President’s  box,  heard  the 
man  exclaim,  £ Sic  semper  tyrannis!  ’ saw  him  jump 
from  the  box,  seize  the  flag  on  the  staff,  and  drop  to 
the  stage.  He  slipped  when  he  struck  the  stage,  but 
got  upon  his  feet  in  a moment,  brandished  a large 
knife,  crying,  ‘ The  South  shall  be  free,’  turned  his 
face  in  the  direction  where  I stood,  and  I recognized 
him  as  John  Wilkes  Booth.  He  ran  towards  me,  and 
I,  seeing  the  knife,  thought  I was  the  one  he  was  after, 
and  ran  off  the  stage  and  up  a flight  of  stairs.  He 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  589 


made  his  escape  out  of  a door  directly  in  the  rear 
of  the  theatre,  mounted  a horse,  and  rode  off.  The 
above  all  occurred  in  the  space  of  a quarter  of  a 
minute,  and  at  the  time  I did  not  know  the  President 
was  shot.” 

Scarcely  had  the  horror-stricken  audience  witnessed 
the  leap  and  flight  of  the  asassin  when  a woman’s 
shriek  pierced  through  the  theatre,  recalling  all  eyes 
to  the  President’s  box.  The  scene  that  ensued  is  de- 
scribed with  singular  vividness  by  the  poet  Walt  Whit- 
man, who  was  present : “ A moment’s  hush  — a scream 
■ — the  cry  of  murder  — Airs.  Lincoln  leaning  out  of 
the  box,  with  ashy  cheeks  and  lips,  with  involuntary 
cry,  pointing  to  the  retreating  figure,  ‘ He  has  killed 
the  President ! ’ And  still  a moment’s  strange,  incredu- 
lous suspense  — and  then  the  deluge  ! — then  that  mix- 
ture of  horror,  noises,  uncertainty  — (the  sound,  some- 
where back,  of  a horse’s  hoofs  clattering  with  speed) 

• — the  people  burst  through  chairs  and  railing,  and 
break  them  up  — that  noise  adds  to  the  queerness  of 
the  scene  — there  is  inextricable  confusion  and  terror 
■ — women  faint  — feeble  persons  fall  and  are  trampled 
on  — many  cries  of  agony  are  heard  — the  broad  stage 
suddenly  fills  to  suffocation  with  a dense  and  motley 
crowd,  like  some  horrible  carnival  — the  audience  rush 
generally  upon  it  — at  least  the  strong  men  do  — the 
actors  and  actresses  are  there  in  their  play  costumes 
and  painted  faces,  with  mortal  fright  showing  through 
the  rouge  — some  trembling,  some  in  tears  — the 
screams  and  calls,  confused  talk  — redoubled,  trebled 
— two  or  three  manage  to  pass  up  water  from  the  stage 
to  the  President’s  box  — others  try  to  clamber  up. 
Amidst  all  this,  a party  of  soldiers,  two  hundred  or 
more,  hearing  what  is  done,  suddenly  appear;  they 
storm  the  house,  inflamed  with  fury,  literally  charging 
the  audience  with  fixed  bayonets,  muskets,  and  pistols, 


590  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


shouting,  ‘ Clear  out ! clear  out ! ’ . . . And  in  the 
midst  of  that  pandemonium  of  senseless  haste  — the  in- 
furiated soldiers,  the  audience,  the  stage,  its  actors 
and  actresses,  its  paints  and  spangles  and  gaslights,  — 
the  life  blood  from  those  veins,  the  best  and  sweetest 
of  the  land,  drips  slowly  down,  and  death’s  ooze  already 
begins  its  little  bubbles  on  the  lips.” 

It  appears  that  Booth,  the  assassin,  had  long  been 
plotting  the  murder  of  the  President,  and  was  await- 
ing a favorable  moment  for  its  execution.  He  had 
visited  the  theatre  at  half-past  eleven  on  the  morning 
of  the  14th,  and  learned  that  a box  had  been  taken 
for  the  President  that  evening.  He  engaged  a fleet 
horse  for  a saddle-ride  in  the  afternoon,  and  left  it  at 
a convenient  place.  In  the  evening  he  rode  to  the 
theatre,  and,  leaving  the  animal  in  charge  of  an  ac- 
complice, entered  the  house.  Making  his  way  to  the 
door  of  the  President’s  box,  and  taking  a small  Der- 
ringer pistol  in  one  hand  and  a double-edged  dagger 
in  the  other,  he  thrust  his  arm  into  the  entrance,  where 
the  President,  sitting  in  an  arm-chair,  presented  to  his 
view  the  back  and  side  of  his  head.  A flash,  a sharp 
report,  a puff  of  smoke,  and  the  fatal  bullet  had  en- 
tered the  President’s  brain. 

Major  Rathbone,  who  occupied  a seat  in  the  Presi- 
dent’s box,  testifies  that  he  was  sitting  with  his  back 
toward  the  door,  when  he  heard  the  discharge  of  a 
pistol  behind  him,  and  looking  around  saw  through  the 
smoke  a man  between  the  door  and  the  President. 
Major  Rathbone  instantly  sprang  toward  him  and 
seized  him ; the  man  wrested  himself  from  his  grasp, 
and  made  a violent  thrust  at  the  Major’s  breast  with 
a large  knife.  The  Major  parried  the  blow  by  striking 
it  up,  and  received  a wound  in  his  left  arm.  The  man 
rushed  to  the  front  of  the  box,  and  the  Major  en- 
deavored to  seize  him  again,  but  only  caught  his  clothes 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  591 


as  he  was  leaping  over  the  railing  of  the  box.  Major 
Rathbone  then  turned  to  the  President.  His  position 
was  not  changed;  his  head  was  slightly  bent  forward, 
and  his  eyes  were  closed. 

As  soon  as  the  surgeons  who  had  been  summoned 
completed  their  hasty  examination,  the  unconscious 
form  of  the  President  was  borne  from  the  theatre  to 
a house  across  the  street,  and  laid  upon  his  death-bed. 
Around  him  were  gathered  Surgeon-General  Barnes, 
Vice-President  Johnson,  Senator  Sumner,  Secretaries 
Stanton  and  Welles,  Generals  Halleck  and  Meigs, 
Attorney-General  Speed,  Postmaster-General  Denni- 
son, Mr.  McCulloch,  Speaker  Colfax,  and  other  inti- 
mate friends  who  had  been  hastily  summoned.  Mrs. 
Lincoln  sat  in  an  adjoining  room,  prostrate  and  over- 
whelmed, with  her  son  Robert.  The  examination  of 
the  surgeons  had  left  no  room  for  hope.  The  watchers 
remained  through  the  night  by  the  bedside  of  the 
stricken  man,  who  showed  no  signs  of  consciousness ; 
and  a little  after  seven  o’clock  in  the  morning — Satur- 
day the  15th  of  April  — he  breathed  his  last. 

A vivid  account  of  the  death-bed  scene,  together  with 
particulars  of  the  attacks  upon  Secretary  Seward  and 
his  son  Frederick  a half-hour  later  than  the  attack 
upon  the  President,  is  furnished  in  the  contemporane- 
ous record  of  Secretary  Welles,  a singularly  cool  ob- 
server and  clear  narrator.  “ I had  retired  to  bed  about 
half-past  ten  on  the  evening  of  the  14th  of  April,” 
writes  Mr.  Welles,  “ and  was  just  getting  asleep  when 
Mrs.  Welles,  my  wife,  said  some  one  was  at  our 
door.  ...  I arose  at  once  and  raised  a window,  when 
my  messenger,  James  Smith,  called  to  me  that  Mr. 
Lincoln,  the  President,  had  been  shot ; and  said  Secre- 
tary Seward  and  his  son,  Assistant  Secretary  Frederick 
Seward,  were  assassinated.  ...  I immediately  dressed 
myself,  and,  against  the  earnest  remonstrance  and  ap- 


592  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


peals  of  my  wife,  went  directly  to  Mr.  Seward’s,  whose 
residence  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  square,  mine  being 
on  the  north.  . . . Entering  the  house,  I found  the 
lower  hall  and  office  full  of  persons,  and  among  them 
most  of  the  foreign  legations,  all  anxiously  inquiring 
what  truth  there  was  in  the  horrible  rumors  afloat.  . . . 
At  the  head  of  the  first  stairs  I met  the  elder  Mrs. 
Seward,  who  was  scarcely  able  to  speak,  but  desired  me 
to  proceed  up  to  Mr.  Seward’s  room.  ...  As  I entered, 
I met  Miss  Fanny  Seward,  with  whom  I exchanged  a 
single  word,  and  proceeded  to  the  foot  of  the  bed. 
Dr.  Verdi,  and,  I think,  two  others,  were  there.  The 
bed  was  saturated  with  blood.  The  Secretary  was 
lying  on  his  back,  the  upper  part  of  his  head  covered 
by  a cloth,  which  extended  down  over  his  eyes.  His 
mouth  was  open,  the  lower  jaw  dropping  down.  I 
exchanged  a few  whispered  words  with  Dr.  Vei’di. 
Secretary  Stanton,  who  came  after  but  almost  simul- 
taneously with  me,  made  inquiries  in  a louder  tone  till 
admonished  by  a word  from  one  of  the  physicians.  We 
almost  immediately  withdrew  and  went  into  the  ad- 
joining front  room,  where  lay  Frederick  Seward.  His 
eyes  were  open,  but  he  did  not  move  them,  nor  a limb, 
nor  did  he  speak.  Doctor  White,  who  was  in  attend- 
ance, told  me  he  was  unconscious  and  more  danger- 
ously injured  than  his  father.  ...  As  we  descended 
the  stairs,  I asked  Stanton  what  he  had  heard  in  re- 
gard to  the  President  that  was  reliable.  He  said  the 
President  was  shot  at  Ford’s  Theatre,  that  he  had  seen 
a man  who  was  present  and  witnessed  the  occurrence. 
I said  I would  go  immediately  to  the  White  House. 
Stanton  told  me  the  President  was  not  there  but  was 
at  the  theatre.  ‘ Then,’  said  I,  ‘ let  us  go  immediately 
there.’  . . . The  President  had  been  carried  across  the 
street  from  the  theatre,  to  the  house  of  a Mr.  Peterson. 
We  entered  by  ascending  a flight  of  steps  above  the 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  593 


basement  and  passing  through  a long  hall  to  the  rear, 
where  the  President  lay  extended  on  a bed,  breathing 
heavily.  Several  surgeons  were  present,  at  least  six, 
I should  think  more.  Among  them  I was  glad  to  ob- 
serve Dr.  Hall,  who,  however,  soon  left.  I inquired 
of  Dr.  H.,  as  I entered,  the  true  condition  of  the  Presi- 
dent. He  replied  the  President  was  dead  to  all  in- 
tents, although  he  might  live  three  hours  or  perhaps 
longer.  . . . The  giant  sufferer  lay  extended  diago- 
nally across  the  bed,  which  was  not  long  enough  for 
him.  He  had  been  stripped  of  his  clothes.  His  large 
arms,  which  were  occasionally  exposed,  were  of  a size 
which  one  would  scarce  have  expected  from  his  spare 
appearance.  His  slow,  full  respiration  lifted  the 
clothes  with  each  breath  that  he  took.  His  features 
were  calm  and  striking.  I had  never  seen  them  appear 
to  better  advantage  than  for  the  first  hour,  perhaps, 
that  I was  there.  After  that,  his  right  eye  began  to 
swell  and  that  part  of  his  face  became  discolored.  . . . 
Senator  Sumner  was  there,  I think,  when  I entered. 
If  not,  he  came  in  soon  after,  as  did  Speaker  Colfax, 
Mr.  Secretary  McCulloch,  and  the  other  members  of 
the  Cabinet,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Seward.  A 
double  guard  was  stationed  at  the  door  and  on  the 
sidewalk,  to  repress  the  crowd,  which  was  of  course 
highly  excited  and  anxious.  The  room  was  small  and 
overcrowded.  The  surgeons  and  members  of  the  Cabi- 
net were  as  many  as  should  have  been  in  the  room, 
but  there  wTere  many  more,  and  the  hall  and  other 
rooms  in  the  front  or  main  house  were  full.  One  of 
these  rooms  was  occupied  by  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her  at- 
tendants, with  Miss  Harris.  Mrs.  Dixon  and  Mrs. 
Kinney  came  to  her  about  twelve  o’clock.  About  once 
an  hour  Mrs.  Lincoln  would  repair  to  the  bedside  of 
her  dying  husband  and  with  lamentations  and  tears 
remain  until  overcome  by  emotion.  ...  A door  which 


594  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


opened  upon  a porch  or  gallery,  and  also  the  windows, 
were  kept  open  for  fresh  air.  The  night  was  dark, 
cloudy,  and  damp,  and  about  six  it  began  to  rain.  I 
remained  in  the  room  until  then  without  sitting  or 
leaving  it,  when,  there  being  a vacant  chair  which  some 
one  left  at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  I occupied  it  for  nearly 
two  hours,  listening  to  the  heavy  groans,  and  witness- 
ing the  wasting  life  of  the  good  and  great  man  who 
was  expiring  before  me.  ...  A little  before  seven  in 
the  morning  I re-entered  the  room  where  the  dying 
President  was  rapidly  drawing  near  the  closing  mo- 
ments. His  wife  soon  after  made  her  last  visit  to 
him.  The  death-struggle  had  begun.  Robei’t,  his  son, 
stood  with  several  others  at  the  head  of  the  bed.  The 
respiration  of  the  President  became  suspended  at  in- 
tervals, and  at  last  entirely  ceased  at  twenty-two 
minutes  past  seven  o’clock.” 

The  news  of  the  President’s  assassination  flashed 
rapidly  over  the  country,  everywhere  causing  the  great- 
est consternation  and  grief.  The  revulsion  from  the 
joy  which  had  filled  all  loyal  hearts  at  the  prospects 
of  peace  was  sudden  and  profound.  All  business  ceased, 
and  gave  way  to  mourning  and  lamentation.  The  flags, 
so  lately  unfurled  in  exultation,  were  now  dropped  at 
half-mast,  and  emblems  of  sorrow  were  hung  from 
every  door  and  window.  Men  walked  with  a dejected 
air.  They  gathered  together  in  groups  in  the  street, 
and  spoke  of  the  murder  of  the  President  as  of  a 
personal  calamity.  The  nation’s  heart  was  smitten 
sorely,  and  signs  of  woe  were  in  every  face  and 
movement. 

A scene  which  transpired  in  Philadelphia,  the  morn- 
ing after  the  murder,  reflects  the  picture  presented  in 
every  city  and  town  in  the  United  States.  “ We  had 
taken  our  seats,”  says  the  delineator,  “ in  the  early 
car  to  ride  down  town,  men  and  boys  going  to  work. 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  595 


The  morning  papers  had  come  up  from  town  as  usual, 
and  the  men  unrolled  them  to  read  as  the  car  started. 
The  eye  fell  on  the  black  border  and  ominous  column- 
lines. Before  we  could  speak,  a good  Quaker  at  the 
head  of  the  car  broke  out  in  horror : ‘ My  God ! 
What’s  this?  Lincoln  is  assassinated .’  The  driver 
stopped  the  car,  and  came  in  to  hear  the  awful  tidings. 
There  stood  the  car,  mid-street,  as  the  heavy  news  was 
read  in  the  gray  dawn  of  that  ill-fated  day.  Men 
bowed  their  faces  in  their  hands,  and  on  the  straw- 
covered  floor  hot  tears  fell  fast.  Silently  the  driver 
took  the  bells  from  his  horses,  and  we  started  like  a 
hearse  cityward.  What  a changed  city  since  the  day 
before!'  Then  all  was  joy  over  the  end  of  the  war; 
now  we  were  plunged  in  a deeper  gulf  of  woe.  The 
sun  rose  on  a city  smitten  and  weeping.  All  traffic 
stood  still;  the  icy  hand  of  death  lay  flat  on  the  heart 
of  commerce,  and  it  gave  not  a throb.  Men  stood  by 
their  open  stores  saying,  with  hands  on  each  other’s 
shoulders,  ‘ Our  President  is  dead.’  Over  and  over,  in 
a dazed  way,  they  said  the  fateful  syllables,  as  if  the 
bullet  that  tore  through  the  weary  brain  at  Washing- 
ton had  palsied  the  nation.  The  mute  news-boy  on  the 
corner  said  never  a word  as  he  handed  to  the  speech- 
less buyers  the  damp  sheets  from  the  press ; only  he 
brushed,  with  unwashed  hand,  the  tears  from  his  dirty 
cheeks.  Groups  stood  listening  on  the  pavement  with 
faces  to  the  earth,  while  one,  in  choking  voice,  read 
the  telegrams ; then  with  a look  they  departed  in  un- 
worded woe,  each  cursing  bitterly  in  his  breast  the 
‘ deep  damnation  of  his  taking  off.’  Mill  operatives, 
clerks,  workers,  school  children,  all  came  home,  the 
faltering  voice  of  the  teacher  telling  the  wondering 
children  to  ‘ go  home,  there  will  be  no  school  to-day.’ 
The  housewife  looked  up  amazed  to  see  husband  and 
children  coming  home  so  soon.  The  father’s  face 


596  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 


frightened  her  and  she  cried,  ‘ What  is  wrong,  hus- 
band? ’ He  could  not  speak  the  news,  but  the  wee 
girl  with  the  school-books  said,  ‘ Mamma,  they ’ve  killed 
the  President.’  Ere  noon  every  house  wore  crape; 
it  was  as  if  there  lay  a dead  son  in  every  home.  For 
hours  a sad  group  hung  around  the  bulletins,  hoping 
against  hope ; then,  when  the  last  hope  died,  turned 
sullenly  homeward,  saying,  ‘ When  all  was  won,  and 
all  was  done,  then  to  strike  him  down ! ’ The  flags 
in  the  harbor  fell  to  half-mast ; the  streets  were  rivers 
of  inky  streamers ; from  door-knobs  floated  crape ; 
and  even  the  unbelled  car-horses  seemed  to  draw  the 
black-robed  cars  more  quietly  than  before.” 

On  Saturday  the  remains  were  borne  to  the  White 
House,  where  they  were  embalmed  and  placed  on  a 
grand  catafalque  in  the  East  Room.  Little  “ Tad  ” 
was  overcome  with  grief.  All  day  Saturday  he  was 
inconsolable,  but  on  Sunday  morning  the  sun  rose 
bright  and  beautiful  and  into  his  childish  heart  came 
the  thought  that  all  was  well  with  his  father.  He  said 
to  a gentleman  who  called  upon  Mrs.  Lincoln,  “ Do 
you  think,  sir,  that  my  father  has  gone  to  heaven  ? ” 
“ I have  not  a doubt  of  it,”  was  the  reply.  “ Then,” 
said  the  little  fellow  in  broken  voice,  “ I am  glad  he 
has  gone  there,  for  he  was  never  happy  after  he  came 
here.  This  was  not  a good  place  for  him ! ” Tuesday 
the  White  House  was  thrown  open  to  admit  friends  who 
desired  to  look  upon  the  still  form  as  it  lay  in  death. 
Wednesday,  the  19th,  the  funeral  services  took  place. 
Mrs.  Lincoln  was  too  ill  to  be  present ; but  her  two 
sons  sat  near  the  coffin  in  the  East  Room.  Next  in 
order  were  ranged  Andrew  Johnson  (now  President) 
and  the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  and  after  them  the 
foreign  representatives,  the  chief  men  of  the  nation, 
and  a large  body  of  mourning  citizens.  The  services 
were  conducted  jointly  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hall,  Bishop 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  597 


Simpson,  Dr.  Gray,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gurley,  the 
latter  delivering  the  discourse.  At  two  o’clock  the 
funeral  cortege  started  for  the  Capitol,  where  the  re- 
mains were  to  lie  in  state  until  the  following  morning. 
The  procession  was  long  and  imposing.  “ There  were 
no  truer  mourners,”  says  Secretary  Welles,  “ than  the 
poor  colored  people  who  crowded  the  streets,  joined 
the  procession,  and  exhibited  their  woe,  bewailing  the 
loss  of  him  whom  they  regarded  as  a benefactor  and 
father.  Women  as  well  as  men,  with  their  little  chil- 
dren, thronged  the  streets,  sorrow  and  trouble  and 
distress  depicted  on  their  countenances  and  in  their 
bearing.  The  vacant  holiday  expression  had  given  way 
to  real  grief.”  The  body  was  borne  into  the  rotunda, 
amidst  funeral  dirges  and  military  salutes ; and  the 
religious  exercises  of  the  occasion  were  concluded.  A 
guard  was  stationed  near  the  coffin,  and  the  public 
were  again  admitted  to  take  their  farewell  of  the  dead. 

While  these  obsequies  were  being  performed  at 
Washington,  similar  ceremonies  were  observed  in  every 
part  of  the  country.  It  had  been  decided  to  convey 
the  remains  of  Lincoln  to  the  home  which  he  left 
four  years  before  with  such  solemn  and  affectionate 
words  of  parting.  The  funeral  train  left  Washington 
on  the  21st.  Its  passage  through  the  principal  East- 
ern States  and  cities  of  the  Union  was  a most  mournful 
and  impressive  spectacle.  The  heavily  craped  train, 
its  sombre  engine  swathed  in  black,  moved  through 
the  land  like  an  eclipse.  At  every  point  vast  crowds 
assembled  to  gain  a tearful  glimpse  as  it  sped  past. 

Over  the  breast  of  the  spring,  the  land,  amid  cities, 

Amid  lanes  and  through  old  woods,  where  lately  the 
violets  peep’d  from  the  ground,  spotting  the 
gray  debris, 

Amid  the  grass  in  the  fields  each  side  of  the  lanes, 
passing  the  endless  grass, 


598  EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN 

Passing  the  yellow-spear’d  wheat,  every  grain  from 
its  shroud  in  the  dark-brown  fields  uprisen, 

Passing  the  apple-tree  blows  of  white  and  pink  in  the 
orchards, 

Carrying  a corpse  to  where  it  shall  rest  in  the  grave, 

Night  and  day  journeys  a coffin. 

Coffin  that  passes  through  lanes  and  streets, 

Through  day  and  night  with  the  great  cloud  darken- 
ing the  land, 

With  the  pomp  of  the  inloop’d  flags,  with  the  cities 
draped  in  black, 

With  the  show  of  the  States  themselves  as  of  crape- 
veil’d  women  standing, 

With  processions  long  and  winding  and  the  flambeaus 
of  the  night, 

With  the  countless  torches  lit,  with  the  silent  sea  of 
faces  and  the  unbared  heads, 

With  the  waiting  depot,  the  arriving  coffin,  and  the 
sombre  faces, 

With  dirges  through  the  night,  with  the  thousand 
voices  rising  strong  and  solemn, 

With  all  the  mournful  voices  of  the  dirges  pour’d 
around  the  coffin, 

The  dim-lit  churches  and  the  shuddering  organs  — 

With  the  tolling,  tolling  bells’  perpetual  clang. 

At  the  principal  cities  delays  were  made  to  enable 
the  people  to  pay  their  tribute  of  respect  to  the  re- 
mains of  their  beloved  President.  Through  Baltimore, 
Harrisburg,  Philadelphia,  the  train  passed  to  New 
York  City,  where  a magnificent  funeral  was  held; 
thence  along  the  shore  of  the  Hudson  river  to  Albany, 
thence  westward  through  the  principal  cities  of  New 
York,  Ohio,  and  Northern  Indiana,  the  cortege  wended 
its  solemn  way,  reaching,  on  the  1st  of  May,  the  city 
of  Chicago.  Here  very  extensive  preparations  for 
funeral  obsequies  had  been  made  by  the  thousands  who 


EVERY-DAY  LIFE  OF  LINCOLN  599 


had  known  him  in  his  life,  and  other  thousands  who 
had  learned  to  love  him  and  now  mourned  his  death. 

On  the  3d  of  May  the  funeral  train  reached  Spring- 
field,  where  old  friends  and  neighbors  tenderly  re- 
ceived the  dust  of  their  beloved  dead.  Funeral  services 
were  held,  and  for  twenty-four  hours  the  catafalque 
remained  in  the  hall  of  the  House,  where  thousands  of 
tear-dimmed  eyes  gazed  for  the  last  time  upon  the 
familiar  face.  Then,  on  the  morning  of  the  4th  of 
May,  a sorrowing  procession  escorted  the  remains  to 
the  beautiful  grounds  of  Oak  Ridge  Cemetery,  to  rest 
at  last  from  the  care  and  tumult  of  a troubled  life. 
To  this  hallowed  spot  have  come  the  gray-haired  sol- 
diers of  that  stormy  war,  reverently  to  salute  their 
great  commander’s  tomb.  Here  shall  long  be  paid  the 
loving  homage  of  the  dusky  race  that  he  redeemed. 
And  pilgrims  from  every  land,  who  value  human  worth 
and  human  liberty,  bring  here  their  tributes  of  respect. 
And  here,  while  the  Government  that  he  saved  endures, 
shall  throng  his  patriot  countrymen,  not  idly  to  lament 
his  loss,  but  to  resolve  that  from  this  honored  dead 
they  take  increased  devotion  to  that  cause  for  which 
he  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion;  that  the 
dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain;  that  the  nation,  under 
God,  shall  have  a new  birth  of  freedom;  and  that 
government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people, 
shall  not  perish  from  the  earth. 


\ 


INDEX 


INDEX 

[The  abbreviation  “L.,”  as  used  in  this  index , refers  in  every  case  to  the  subject  of 
this  biography.] 


Abolitionists,  Bloomington  convention, 
165-169;  crusade  against  slavery,  244- 
245;  “Boston  set”  visits  L.,  482-484 
Adams,  Charles  Francis,  343 
Adams,  John  Quincy,  100,  549 
Agassiz,  Louis,  visits  L.,  475-476 
Alabama,  secedes,  261 
Allen,  Robert,  L’s  letter  to,  59 
Ames,  Dr.,  232 
Ames,  Oakes,  482 

Anderson,  Robert,  meetings  with  L.,  39— 
40;  holds  Fort  Sumter,  262 
Andrew,  John  A.,  mentioned,  234,  342,  466; 
impression  of  L.,  235 

Anecdotes  of  L.,  Aaron’s  commission  from 
the  Lord,  477;  Abolitionist  call  for  a con- 
vention, 165-166;  About  his  wealth,  216; 
Actor  who  wanted  consulship,  470;  An- 
derson and  L’s  good  memory,  39-40; 
Anxiety  during  summer  of  1864,  542- 
546;  Artemus  Ward,  reading  of,  332- 
333;  Attorney  for  the  people,  459;  Au- 
thenticity of,  32;  Baker  rescued  from 
opponents,  91;  “Biggest  shuck  and 
smallest  nubbin,”  556;  Birds  restored  to 
nest,  76;  Black  Hawk  War,  37,  38,  40; 
Bob  Lewis  and  the  Mormon  lands,  334- 
335;  Booth’s  acting,  469;  Bores,  getting 
rid  of,  460;  Breach  of  promise  suit,  81- 
82;  Bread  and  butter  dinner,  255; 
Bullet-hole  through  L’s  hat,  541-542; 
Burnside’s  brigadiers,  promoted,  385; 
Butterfield’s  son,  appointment,  107; 
“Cabinet  a-sittin’,”  330;  Call  for  addi- 
tional troops  “not  a personal  question,” 
537;  Cashiered  officer,  censured,  477- 
478;  Challenge  to  work  in  field  for  votes, 
48;  “Charles  I.  lost  his  head,”  556; 
Chase’s  appointment  as  chief-justice, 
550-551;  Client’s  fee  divided  with  de- 
fendant, 128-129;  Cogdal  note  returned 
by  L.,  136;  Confederate  soldiers  greeting 
at  Petersburg,  567-568;  Congress,  first 
speech  in,  101;  Credits  of  troops,  Stanton 
overmatched,  376;  Coward,  “If  any 
man  calls  me  coward  let  him  test  it,”  38; 
Darkey  arithmetic,  357-358;  Dennis 


Hanks’  recollections,  6-9;  Douglas  re- 
proved, 203;  Dreams  significant,  583- 
584;  DuPont’s  slowness,  457-458; 
Earning  the  first  dollar,  17-18;  Editor 
who  nominated  L.,  460-461;  Election 
clerk,  first  official  act,  32;  Five  Points 
Sunday  School  visit,  225-226;  Forced 
serenity  deceptive,  542;  Free-soil  party, 
prediction,  172-174;  Gavel  of  Confeder- 
ate congress,  586-587;  Gettysburg  bat- 
tle, L’s  anxiety  during,  499-500;  “Give 
and  take”  rule  for  office-seekers,  295- 
296;  Government  on  a tight  rope,  484; 
Grant  accused  of  drunkenness,  524; 
Grant  invited  to  dinner,  520-521;  Grant’s 
ability  to  manage  the  army,  526-527; 
Grant’s  political  aspirations,  523; 
Greeley’s  criticism,  429;  Gunboat  advice 
to  New  Yorkers,  338;  Herndon’s  con- 
victions on  slavery,  166-167;  Hooker’s 
appointment,  487-488;  Hooker’s  self- 
confidence,  491-492;  Horsemanship 
tested  by  McClellan,  415-416;  Horses 
captured  by  guerillas,  399;  Horse- 
trading,  140;  Ignorance  of  Latin  ad- 
mitted, 468-469;  Impromptu  speeches 
written,  471;  Inaugural  message,  loss  of, 
283;  Indian  protected  by  L.,  37;  Jack- 
knife given  him  because  of  ugliness,  83; 
Jacob  Thompson,  proposed  arrest,  585- 
586;  Jefferson  Davis  and  the  trouble- 
some coon  story,  580;  Johnnie  Konga- 
pod,  81;  Joseph  Jefferson  and  his  players, 
79;  Kerr’s  papers  enjoyed,  334;  Kind- 
ness to  birds,  76;  Kindness  to  old  colored 
woman,  128;  Kindness  to  old  John 
Burns,  515;  Last  drive  with  wife,  584- 
585;  Law  cases  refused  on  moral  grounds, 
137-138;  Lawsuits,  gaining  advantage 
in,  80-82;  Lee,  attitude  of  L.  toward, 
582;  Lightning  rod  and  Forquer,  56-57; 
Logan  and  his  shirt,  139-140;  “Long 
sword  in  a short  scabbard,”  566-567; 
Loyalty  to  old  friends,  Hubbard,  458- 
459;  McClellan’s  body-guard,  417—418; 
McClellan’s  fatigued  horses,  416;  Mc- 
Clellan’s pass  to  Richmond,  454;  McCor- 


604 


INDEX 


raick  reaper  case,  173-175;  McCullough 
thanked  by  L.,  469-470;  Major-generals 
and  hard  tack,  400;  Manners,  first  lesson, 
13;  Measuring  backs  with  Sumner,  336; 
Measuring  height  with  Ab  McElrath, 
274-275;  Measuring  height  with  a 
Southerner,  247;  Measuring  height  with 
a young  “Sucker,”  254;  Meeting  with 
Smoot,  29-30;  Mrs.  White,  southern 
sympathizer,  453;  “Monarch  of  all  you 
survey,”  47;  Name  refused  for  commer- 
cial use,  452;  Negroes  at  White  House 
reception,  552-553;  Negroes  welcome 
their  “Great  Messiah,”  569-571;  Noisy 
and  boastful  fighter,  189;  Office-seeker 
from  Wisconsin  repulsed,  353;  Office- 
seeker,  unfit,  307 ; Old  sign,  “ Lincoln  and 
Herndon,”  264-265;  Old  woman  and  the 
bread  and  milk,  255;  One-legged  soldier, 
lack  of  credentials,  451-452;  Oratorical 
success  discussed  with  Gulliver,  222-223; 
Pardon  for  deserters,  397;  Pardon  for 
young  soldier,  396-397;  Pardoning 
prisoners  of  war,  578-580;  Pass  given 
Laura  Jones,  Southerner,  453;  Pay- 
master, appointment,  377-378;  Phila- 
delphia receives  news  of  L’s  death,  594- 
596;  Pig  rescued  from  a pit,  76-77; 
Pigeon  holes  versus  letter  files,  474; 
Powder  sample,  testing,  383-384;  Quaker 
demand  for  emancipation,  425-427; 
Quakers  sent  home,  398;  Rail  making, 
230-231 ; Reading  Nasby  during  election 
returns,  548;  Rebel  mail  examined,  354- 
355;  Rebels  number  twelve  hundred 
thousand,  454;  Revolutionary  War  de- 
fended, 77-78;  Sandwich  Islands* 
commissioner,  applicants,  339;  School 
of  events,  suggestion,  475;  Scott’s  re- 
quest concerning  wife’s  body,  408-410; 
Scott  “unable  as  a politician,”  337; 
Sherman  and  the  officer,  328-329; 
Sherman  after  Bull  Run,  327-329; 
Sherman’s  visit  from  Louisiana,  299; 
Sitting  for  life-mask,  237-243;  Skunks, 
shooting,  373-374;  Slave  girl  sold,  147; 
Slavery  speech  criticised  by  Long,  181— 
182;  Soldiers’  humor,  399,  400;  “Some- 
thing everybody  can  take,”  460;  South 
Carolina  lady’s  visit,  297-298;  Stanton 
calls  L.  a d — d fool,  378;  “Stoning 
Stephen,”  204;  Storekeeper  in  New 
Salem,  43;  Strength,  physical,  92-93; 
Stump  speech,  first  appearance,  41;  Sun 
doesn’t  set,  20;  Swapping  horses  mid 
stream,  535;  Sykes’s  yellow  dog, 525-526; 
Tad  and  the  scattered  pages  of  L’s 
speech,  575-576;  Tad’s  grief  over  death 
of  father,  596;  “Taking  the  wind  out  of 
his  sails,”  88;  Talking  against  time,  80; 
Taylor’s  fine  clothes,  57-58;  Thrashing 


a bully,  28-29;  “To  whom  it  may  con- 
cern,” 539;  Trousers  requested  by  office- 
seeker,  569;  Trust  in  God,  351-352; 
Use  of  old-fashioned  words,  139;  Used 
on  adversaries,  86;  Verses  written  from 
memory,  356;  Vicksburg,  joy  of  L.,  501; 
Wade’s  effort  to  remove  Grant,  503; 
Weem’s  life  of  Washington,  15;  Whigs 
all  dead,  157;  Wood-craft  knowledge, 
474-475;  Wrestling  match  with  Jack 
Armstrong,  28 

Antietam,  battle  of,  414,  437;  L’s  dream, 
583 

Appomattox,  Lee’s  surrender  at,  573 
Armstrong,  Hannah,  133-135 
Armstrong,  Hugh,  30 

Armstrong,  Jack,  trial  of  strength,  28; 

early  friend,  133 
Armstrong,  John,  quoted,  178 
Armstrong,  William  D.,  defended  by  L., 
133-135 

Arnold,  Isaac  N.,  quoted,  3,  14,  19,  31,  56, 
59,  72,  150,  153,  185,  190,  205,  232,  244, 
297-298,  299-301,  332-333,  422-423, 
466-467,  468,  545,  584-585;  interview 
with  L.,  422-423;  mentioned,  237 
Arnold,  Matthew,  quoted,  546 
Ashley,  Hon.  James  M.,  constitutional 
amendment  introduced  by,  554 
Ashmore,  Congressman,  of  South  Carolina, 
quoted,  431 

Ashmun,  George,  mentioned,  241-243,  586 
Austin,  G.  L.,  quoted,  136 

Baker,  Edward  D.,  mentioned,  74,  186; 
refuses  to  defend  slaves,  77;  Whig  de- 
bater, 89;  personal  and  political  friend 
of  L.,  91;  elected  congressman,  97;  killed 
at  Balls’  Bluff,  131;  magnanimity  of  L. 
towards,  159;  introduced  L.  at  inaugura- 
tion, 284 

Balch,  George  B.,  quoted,  21-23 
Baltimore,  republican  convention  at,  1864, 
534 

Bancroft,  George,  contrasted  with  L.,  217; 
quoted,  578 

Banks,  Nathaniel  P.,  501 
Barnes,  Surgeon-General,  591 
Barrett,  J.  H.,  quoted,  23-^4,  26 
Bateman,  Newton,  quoted,  202-203,  245- 
247 

Bates,  Edward,  candidate  for  president, 
231;  made  attorney  general,  293,  294; 
characterized,  366;  visits  army  with  L., 
490;  resignation,  552 
Beckwith,  H.  W.,  81 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  abolition  sermons 
read  by  L.,  166;  invites  L.  to  speak  in 
his  church,  214;  eloquent  abolitionist, 
245 

Bell,  John,  nominated  for  president,  251 


INDEX 


605 


Bennett,  John,  impressions  of  L.,  67-68 
Bible,  L’s  knowledge  of,  118;  L.  quotes 
from,  473;  L's  opinion  of,  478 
Bigelow,  John,  quoted,  303-304,  345,  359- 
361,  363-364,  513,  514,  546-547 
Bird,  Francis,  TV.,  482 
Birney,  Zachariah,  L’s  school-master,  11 
Bissell,  TYilliam  H.,  mentioned,  74-209 
Bixby,  Mrs.,  397-398 
Black  Hawk  War,  L’s  military  experience 
in,  35-40 

Blaine,  James  G.,  compares  Lincoln  and 
Douglas,  183-185 

Blair,  F.  P.,  attacks  Chase,  533;  repre- 
hended by  L.,  534 

Blair,  Montgomery,  made  postmaster 
general,  293-294;  arming  of  negroes  de- 
precated by,  436;  residence  fired,  536; 
resignation,  551 

Bloomington  Convention,  165-169 
Bonham,  Jeriah,  quoted,  180,  197,  203 
Boone,  Daniel,  2 

Booneville,  Ind.,  L.  attends  court,  9,  19 
Booth,  Edwin,  L’s  enjoyment  of  his  acting, 
469 

Booth,  John  Wilkes,  assassination  of  L., 
588-590 

Boston  delegation,  conference  with  L., 
482 

Boutwell,  George  S.,  quoted,  437 
Bowles,  Samuel,  quoted,  206 
Brainard  and  Knott,  quoted,  220 
Breckenridge,  John  A.,  early  influence  on 
L.,  9,  19 

Breckenridge,  John  C.,  nominated  for 
president,  250 

Breese,  Sidney,  dignity,  84;  quoted,  141 
Brewster,  Father,  204 
Bright,  John,  357 

Brooklyn,  L’s  lecture  trip,  214-215 
Brooks,  Senator,  knocks  down  Sumner, 
245;  quoted,  192 

Brooks,  Noah  P.,  470;  quoted,  171-173, 
462-463,  466-467,  471,  474,  490,  491- 
492,  493,  543,  546;  describes  L’s  last 
speech,  575-576 

Brooks,  Phillips,  quoted,  478-479 
Bross,  John  A.,  538 

Bross,  William,  first  meeting  with  L.,  170; 

interview  with  L.,  265,  538-539 
Brough,  John,  victorious  governor  of  Ohio, 
510;  effort  to  reconcile  L.  and  Chase, 
549 

Brown,  John,  485 

Browne,  Francis  Fisher,  biographical 
sketch,  v-vii 

Browning,  O.  H.,  mentioned,  74-186; 
Whig  debater,  89;  inaugural  party, 
member  of,  266,  275 

Browning  Robert,  L’s  fondness  for  his 
poetry,  387 


Bryan,  Thomas  B.,  purchases  MS.  of 
emancipation  proclamation,  445 
Bryan,  William  J.,  on  L.  as  an  orator,  473 
Bryant,  William  Cullen,  presided  over 
Cooper  Institute  meeting,  217;  aboli- 
tionist, 245;  favored  L.  for  presidency, 
247-248 

Buchanan,  James,  mentioned,  294,  295; 
treachery  during  his  administration,  261- 
262;  escorts  L.  to  Capitol,  284-286; 
characterized,  291;  escorts  L.  to  White 
House,  292 

Bull  Run,  battle  of,  depression  after,  326- 
437;  L’s  dream,  583,  second  battle,  411 
Bulwer-Lytton,  mentioned,  469 
Burns,  John,  515 

Burns,  Robert,  L’s  fondness  for  his  poetry, 
466 

Burnside,  Ambrose  E.,  Fredericksburg 
repulse,  368,  487,  488;  victories  in  N.  C., 
385;  unpopularity,  404;  replaces  Mc- 
Clellan, 417;  L’s  opinion  of,  487 
Bushnell,  C.  S.,  agent  for  Ericsson,  345, 
346 

Butler,  William,  L.  boards  with,  in  Spring- 
field,  70 

Butterfield,  Daniel,  493 
Butterfield,  Justin,  mentioned,  74;  ap- 
pointed commissioner  of  land  office,  106; 
son  of,  desires  appointment,  107 
Byron,  Lord,  L’s  fondness  for  his  poetry, 
132;  quoted,  350 

Cabinet,  L’s  political  rivals  chosen,  256; 
L’s  non-partisan  ideas,  256,  259;  make- 
up discussed  with  Weed,  257-259;  with 
Riddle,  275;  Banks  considered,  283; 
final  appointments  and  how  decided, 
293;  changes  during  administration, 
294;  meetings  enlivened  by  stories,  336; 
L’s  relations  with,  363;  misconceptions 
of  rights  and  duties,  364;  unfriendly 
feeling  between  members,  365;  earliest 
meetings  informal,  365-366;  attitude 
toward  the  war,  366-367;  personal  dis- 
sensions, 367-370;  Seward’s  removal 
demanded,  368;  Chase  and  Seward  resig- 
nations, 368-370;  Stanton  the  master- 
mind, 370-371;  Cameron’s  relations 
with  L.,  371-373;  Stanton  succeeds 
Cameron,  372-373;  Senators  advise 
reconstruction  of,  373-374;  Stanton’s 
relations  with  L.,  374-379;  opposes  L’s 
reinstatement  of  McClellan,  412-413; 
attitude  toward  emancipation,  432;  pre- 
liminary proclamation  discussed,  L’s 
own  account,  436-438;  second  draft 
discussed,  437-439,  444;  disposal  of 
freedmen  discussed,  439-440;  Chase 
finally  disposed  of,  549-550;  Blair  suc- 
ceeded by  Dennison,  551;  Bates  resigns, 


606 


INDEX 


552;  ignored  by  L.,  555;  last  meeting 
attended  by  L.,  580-581,  583-584 
Calhoun,  John  C.,  mentioned,  186;  ap- 
points L.  deputy  surveyor,  47;  demo- 
cratic debater,  89;  congressman,  100 
California,  L.’s  desire  to  live  in,  549 
Cameron,  Simon,  mentioned,  506;  con- 
gressman, 100;  presidential  candidate, 
231;  cabinet  possibility,  275;  secretary 
of  war,  293,  294,  298;  retirement  from 
the  cabinet,  371-373;  advocates  arming 
the  blacks,  447 

Campbell,  Major,  rescues  fugitive  slaves, 
248 

Campbell,  John  A.,  Southern  peace  com- 
missioner, 555 

Canada,  rebel  agents  in,  352-353 
Capital  and  labor.  See  Labor  and  capital 
Carpenter,  Francis  B.,  mentioned,  469; 

quoted,  234,  436-437,  464-465,  544,  573 
Cartwright,  Peter,  99 
Cass,  Lewis,  mentioned,  100;  ridiculed  by 
L.,  102-104 

Caton,  John  Dean,  first  meeting  with  L., 
60-61;  opinion  of  L.  as  lawyer,  141-142; 
fugitive  slave  decision,  248;  advice  on 
war  policy,  255-256 

Chancellorsville,  battle  of,  492-494,  496- 
497,  506 

Chandler,  Zack,  aids  L.  in  Schofield  matter, 
456;  quoted,  498-499;  lack  of  military 
judgment,  505 

Channing,  William  Henry,  abolitionist, 
245;  conversation  with  L.  on  slavery, 
427-428 

Chapman,  Colonel,  quoted,  263-264 
Chapman,  Mrs.,  263;  quoted,  113 
Charleston,  L’s  opinion  of  situation,  490- 
491 

Chase,  Salmon  P.,  mentioned,  185,  501, 
548;  opposes  Nebraska  bill,  153;  presi- 
dential candidate,  231-233,  532;  logic  of, 
245;  cabinet  possibility,  258-275,  371; 
secretary  of  the  treasury,  293,  294,  297; 
rivalry  with  Seward,  366-370;  upholds 
Stanton,  368;  resignation  and  with- 
drawal, 369-370;  consulted  about  Stan- 
ton, 373;  oppoges  negro  enlistment,  373; 
visits  Fortress  Monroe  with  L.,  386-392; 
opinion  of  emancipation  proclamation, 
436;  contribution  to  emancipation  proc- 
lamation, 444;  rupture  with  Lincoln, 
532-534;  second  resignation  offered,  549; 
accepted,  550;  appointed  Chief  Justice, 
550-551;  quoted,  367 
Chattanooga,  Grant’s  success,  516 
Chicago,  L.  visits  N.  B.  Judd,  117-118; 
national  republican  convention,  231-237; 
memorial  on  emancipation,  427;  North- 
western fair,  445;  funeral  services  for  L., 
598 


Chicago  Historical  Society,  owned  emanci- 
pation proclamation  MS.,  445 
Cincinnati,  L’s  first  visit,  173-176;  L’s 
second  visit,  213;  visits  on  inaugural 
journey,  270-273 
City  Point,  visited  by  L.,  562-566 
Civil  War,  L’s  peace  pleas  before  war, 
extract,  158,  270;  L.  foresees  coming 
struggle,  255-256;  L.  promises  to  pro- 
mote peace,  268;  workingmen  offer 
support  for  freedom,  271-273;  L’s  re- 
luctance to  express  opinion,  272-273; 
L’s  peace  plea  in  inaugural  speech,  287- 
291;  Washington  swarms  with  rebels, 
292;  desperate  condition  of  treasury, 
292;  secession  a political  issue,  292-293; 
Stanton’s  loyalty  to  Union,  295;  faith- 
less officials  in  departments,  295;  L’s 
conquest  of  a South  Carolinian,  297-298; 
Louisiana’s  war  preparations,  299; 
Sumter  attack,  312;  call  for  volunteers, 
312-314;  Massachusetts  first  in  field, 
314;  Baltimore  attack,  315;  Douglas 
stands  by  government,  315-316;  Wash- 
ington thrills  over  Sumter,  316;  blockade 
of  Southern  ports,  proclamation,  316- 
318;  Key  West,  Tortugas,  and  Santa 
Rosa  proclamation,  318;  Virginia  asks 
expression  of  federal  policy,  318;  L ’s 
reply,  319-320;  L’s  hope  for  Union,  320; 
L’s  desire  to  retain  Kentucky,  320-321; 
Kentucky  saved  to  Union,  321-322; 
special  session  of  Congress,  322;  L’s 
appeal  for  funds  and  men,  323-325; 
preparations,  325-326;  review  of  N.  Y. 
troops,  326;  Bull  Run,  326;  L.  visits 
army  in  Virginia,  327-329;  L’s  anxiety 
after  Bull  Run,  329*331;  Harper’s 
Ferry,  333-334;  fleet  urged  to  draw 
rebels  from  Washington,  337;  L.  refuses 
gun-boat  to  New  Yorkers,  338;  Trent 
affair,  Mason  and  Slidell,  340-345; 
English  neutrality  established,  343;  Eng- 
lish controversies,  344-345;  Ericsson’s 
“ Monitor,”  345-347;  Ross’s  mission 
to  Canada,  352-355;  L’s  reply  on  num- 
ber of  losses,  357-358;  friction  concern- 
ing direction,  366-368;  negro  enlistment, 
recommended,  373;  Sabin’s  appoint- 
ment, 377-378;  inertia  of  proceedings, 

380- 381;  L.  develops  military  sagacity, 

381- 385;  brightening  prospects,  proc- 
lamation, 385-386;  L.  visits  Fortress 
Monroe,  386-392;  Merrimac  and  Moni- 
tor, 390-391;  Norfolk  captured,  391- 
392;  L’s  letter  to  McClellan  on  over- 
cautiousness,  392-395;  L’s  sympathy 
for  soldiers,  395-402;  visits  hospitals, 
400-401;  L’s  letter  to  McClellan  con- 
cerning route  to  Richmond,  405-407; 
impatience  over  approach  to  Richmond, 


INDEX 


607 


406-408;  strain  of  summer  of  1862,  408; 
refusal  of  leave  for  Scott,  408-410; 
McClellan’s  army  ordered  withdrawn, 
410;  Pope’s  defeat  at  Manassas,  410- 
411;  McClellan’s  reinstatement,  411- 
413;  Washington  peril,  413;  Antietam 
victory,  414;  L.  visits  Army  of  Potomac, 
414-416,  417-418;  Fredericksburg  at- 
tacked, 417;  L’s  dissatisfaction  with 
McClellan,  418;  Missouri  factional 
quarrels,  454-457;  L’s  dissatisfaction 
with  DuPont,  457-458;  Fredericksburg, 
L’s  grief  over,  461-462;  L’s  visit  to 
army  before  Chancellorsville,  465-466, 
490-491;  L’s  method  criticised,  480- 
484,  485;  negro  enlistment,  484-486; 
retaliation  opposed  by  L.,  485;  Freder- 
icksburg defeat,  487,  488;  Hooker  suc- 
ceeds Burnside,  487-490;  naval  opera- 
tions, 490;  Chancellorsville  defeat,  492- 
494;  defeat,  dissatisfaction  of  North, 
493-494;  turning-point  of  war,  496; 
Pennsylvania  invaded,  497;  Northern 
fear  of  Lee,  497;  Hooker  succeeded  by 
Meade,  497-498;  Gettysburg,  498-499; 
Vicksburg  campaign,  500-503;  L’s  joy 
over  victory,  501;  Wade  urges  Grant’s 
dismissal,  503;  Gettysburg  victory,  503- 
504;  Washington  criticisms,  505;  Meade’s 
leadership,  504-507;  Chancellorsville 
defeat,  506;  Fredericksburg  defeat,  506; 
L.  against  compromise,  507;  brightening 
prospects  after  elections,  510;  L’s  con- 
fidence in  Grant,  516,  520-521;  Grant’s 
victories  after  Vicksburg,  516;  his  plans, 
516-517;  Grant’s  commission  received, 
519;  L ’s  plan  of  campaign  for  Grant, 
522;  Early’s  raid,  L’s  plan  against,  522; 
Grant’s  reply,  523;  Vicksburg,  criticisms 
of  campaign,  anecdote,  525-526;  Grant 
and  Stanton  clash,  526-527;  Early’s 
attack  on  Washington,  525-537;  call  for 
additional  troops,  July  18,  1864,  537; 
gloomy  prospects,  537-539,  542-546; 
Wilderness  and  Petersburg  losses,  538- 
539;  peace  negotiations,  “To  whom  it 
may  concern,”  539;  effect  of  L’s  re- 
election,  548;  Sherman’s  march  to  the 
sea,  552;  L’s  conditions  for  peace,  552; 
peace  negotiations  with  Southern  com- 
missioners, 554-557;  Lee’s  last  efforts, 
561-562;  closing  events,  562;  L.  visits 
army,  562-573;  fall  of  Petersburg,  567; 
fall  of  Richmond,  568;  Lee’s  surrender, 
573;  end  of  war,  573-576;  pardoning 
prisoners,  578-580.  See  also  Emancipa- 
tion; Secession 

Clary  Grove  boys,  attack  on  L.,  27-28; 
volunteers  in  Black  Hawk  War,  36; 
smash  store  in  New  Salem,  42-43 

Clay,  Cassius  M.,  309-322 


Clay,  Henry,  influence  of  speeches  on  L.,  8; 
L’s  admiration  and  disillusion,  98-99; 
gradual  emancipation  speech,  98;  L’s 
eulogy  of,  147 
Clephane,  Lewis,  468-469 
Cleveland,  Grover,  360 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  visit  on  inaugural  journey, 
274-275 

Clinton,  DeWitt,  61 

Cobb,  Howell,  distinguished  in  civil  war, 
100 

Cogdal’s  note,  136 

Colfax,  Schuyler,  interview  with  L.,  545, 
583,  586-587;  L.’s  death-bed,  591,  593 
Collamer,  Jacob,  368 
Collyer,  Robert,  quoted,  329 
Columbus,  Ohio,  welcome  on  inaugural 
journey,  268-269 

Confederate  States,  considered  a fact  by 
Wigfall,  286;  knowledge  of  Union  moves, 
292;  Trent  affair,  340-345;  favored 
capital,  348;  Canadian  machinations, 
352-353 

Congress,  special  session,  July  4,  1861,  322; 

emancipation  measures,  421 
Conkling,  James  C.,  80;  quoted,  86 
Constitution,  slavery  amendment,  553-554 
Constitutional  Union  Party,  251 
Conway,  Moncure  D.,  impression  of  L., 
176;  interview  with  L.,  482-484;  quoted, 
427-429 

Cook,  Mr.,  of  Illinois,  232,  233 
Cooper  Institute  speech,  215-221,  223-224, 
232 

Costa  Rica,  asylum  for  freedom,  440 
Covode,  John,  445 
Crane,  C.  B.,  quoted,  546 
Crawford,  Andrew,  L’s  schoolmaster,  12 
Crawford,  Josiah,  incident  of  the  ruined 
book,  14-16 

Crawford,  Mrs.  Josiah,  quoted,  16 
Crittenden,  John  J.,  185 
Curdy,  Dr.,  170 
Curtin,  Andrew  G.,  497 
Curtis-Gamble  controversy,  454-456 
Cushing,  Caleb,  354;  candidate  for  attor- 
ney general,  552  quoted,  207 

Dahlgren,  John  A.,  quoted,  383,  384,  385 
Dana,  Charles  A.,  quoted,  295,  547-548, 
585-586 

Davis,  David,  mentioned,  74,  232-260; 
quoted,  113,  144-145,  256;  advised  L. 
on  cabinet,  257;  member  of  inaugural 
party,  266 

Davis,  Jefferson,  in  Black  Hawk  War,  39; 
in  senate,  100;  recognition  asked  by 
Southern  commissioners,  555-556;  man- 
sion occupied  by  Weitzel,  572;  L’s 
clemency  toward,  580 
Davis,  O.  L.,  81 


608 


INDEX 


Dayton,  William  L.,  vice-presidential 
nominee,  170 

Defrees,  public  printer,  objects  to  L’s 
colloquialisms,  471-472 
Deming,  Henry  Champion,  quoted,  302- 
303 

Democratic  Party,  dominates  Illinois,  65; 
pro-slavery  tendencies,  251;  rebel  sym- 
pathisers, 292;  opposes  congressional 
war  measures,  481 

Dennison,  William,  postmaster  general, 
294;  presides  over  Baltimore  convention, 
534;  replaces  Blair,  551;  at  L’s  death- 
bed, 591 

Dicey,  Edward,  quoted,  544 
Dickey,  T.  Lyle,  quoted,  524 
Dickson,  W.  M.,  quoted,  174,  176,  213 
District  of  Columbia,  slavery  abolished,  421 
Dixon,  Father,  quoted,  40 
Dominican  question,  Seward’s  embarrass- 
ment, 336 

Dorsey,  Azel,  L’s  schoolmaster,  12 
Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  mentioned,  74,  285, 
286,  303;  groggery  taunt  about  L.,  26; 
L’s  first  impression  of,  62,  188;  debates 
with  L.,  89-90,  153-154,  177,  182-207; 
courts  Mary  Todd,  94;  Mexican  War, 
blames  L.  for  opposition,  102;  opens 
campaign,  1852,  147;  defends  Missouri 
compromise,  154-155,  157,  159;  claims 
Whigs  are  dead,  157;  senatorial  nomina- 
tion, 177;  oratory  compared  with  L., 
182-207;  debater  and  orator,  183-184, 
186,  190,  205;  appearance  and  charac- 
teristics, 185-186,  188-189,  190-191; 
quoted,  187-188;  senator  in  1846,  188; 
magnetism,  197;  re-elected  senator  in 
1858,  208;  speeches  in  Ohio  in  1859,  211; 
L’s  attitude  toward,  216;  democratic 
nominee  for  president,  244,  250;  mag- 
nanimity, 291;  sustains  the  government, 
315-316;  death,  316 

Douglass,  Frederick,  conference  with  L., 
484-486;  impression  of  L.,  486 
Dresser,  Rev.  Nathan,  residence  of,  in 
Springfield,  purchased  by  L.,  96 
Drummond,  Thomas,  quoted,  142-144 
Dummer,  H.  C.,  quoted,  46 
Duncan,  Major,  teaches  L.  use  of  broad- 
sword, 93 

DuPont,  Admiral,  characterized  by  L., 
457-458 

Early,  Dr.,  L’s  reply  to,  58-59 
Early,  Jubal  A.,  raid  on  Washington,  522, 
535 

Eaton,  Page,  quoted,  70,  114 
Eckert,  General,  547 
Edwards,  Matilda,  admired  by  L.,  95 
Edwards,  Ninian  W.,  mentioned,  74; 
candidate  for  legislature,  58 


Edwards,  Mrs.  Ninian  W.,  sister  of  Mary 
Todd,  94 

Egan,  Dr.,  of  Chicago,  171 
Eggleston,  Edward,  quoted,  225 
Elkin,  Elder,  funeral  services  for  Nancy 
Hanks,  10 

Ellis,  A.  Y„,  quoted,  42 
Ellsworth,  E.  E.,  member  of  inaugural 
party,  266 

Emancipation,  discussion  of  measures,  419- 
448;  Fremont’s  proclamation,  420; 
gradual,  advocated,  420-423;  first  dis- 
cussed by  L.  with  cabinet  members, 
423-424;  military,  authorized,  421; 
Quaker  delegation  demands,  425-427; 
Chicago  clergymen  demand,  427;  Lincoln 
and  Channing  interview,  427;  Lincoln 
and  Greeley,  429-431;  Greeley’s  “ Prayer 
of  twenty  millions,”  and  L’s  reply,  429- 
430;  compensation  suggested,  428,  433, 
447;  deportation  suggested,  439-440; 
L’s  message  to  congress,  1862,  440-441; 
“Boston  set”  discussed  with  L.,  482-484; 
defended  by  L.,  507 

Emancipation  proclamation,  issued,  419; 
official  measures  preceding,  419-422; 
preliminary  text,  432-435;  L’s  own 
account  of,  436-438,  444-445;  Seward’s 
view  of,  436-437;  Welles’s  account, 
438-439;  text,  441-443;  signed,  441; 
pen  used,  445 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  quoted,  304-305, 
359;  belief  in  L.,  482 

England,  neutrality  established,  343;  con- 
troversies with,  344-345 
Ericsson,  John,  inventor  of  “Monitor,” 
345-346 

Evarts,  Mr.,  of  N.  Y.,  grieved  over  Seward’s 
defeat,  234 

Everett,  Edward,  nominated  for  vice- 
president,  251;  appreciation  of  L’s 
Gettysburg  address,  513;  impression  of 
L„  515 

Ewing,  Lee  D.,  opposed  to  change  in 
Illinois  State  capital,  66 

Farragut,  David  G.,  537;  compared  with 
DuPont,  458 
Fell,  Jesse  W.,  32 

Fessenden,  William  P.,  185,  368;  secretary 
of  the  treasury,  294 
Ficklin,  O.  B.,  126 
Fithian,  Dr.,  126 

Flatboat,  constructed  by  L.,  17-18 
Florida,  secedes,  261 

Ford’s  Theatre,  scene  of  assassination,  586- 
591 

Forquer,  George,  lightning  rod  anecdote, 
57 

Forrest,  Edwin,  469 
Forrest,  Thomas  L.,  458 


INDEX 


609 


Fort  Sumter,  held  by  Anderson,  262; 

attack,  312,  316;  L’s  dream,  583 
Fortress  Monroe,  L.  visits,  386-392 
Foster,  Major-General,  385,  400 
Fox,  G.  V.,  assistant  secretary  of  the  navy, 
536 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  L.  ranked  with,  549 
Fredericksburg,  repulse  at,  368;  attacked, 
417;  L’s  grief  over,  461-462;  defeat, 
487,  488,  506 

Free-Soil  Party,  150,  172,  173 
Free-state  cause,  L.  sympathises  with,  158 
Freedmen.  See  Negroes 
Fremont,  John  C.,  nominated  for  presi- 
dent, 170;  defeated,  173;  pioneer  eman- 
cipator, 420,  447;  presidential  possi- 
bility in,  1864,  532 
Fry,  J.  R,,  quoted,  376 
Fugitive  Slave  Law,  detested  by  L.,  248- 
249;  text,  434-435 

Fusion  Party,  L.  candidate  of,  for  senator, 
162 

Gamble,  Governor,  Curtis-Gamble  faction, 
454-456 

Gentry,  Allen,  19-20 
Gentry,  Mrs.  Allen,  quoted,  12 
Georgia,  seceded,  261 

Germans  in  Cincinnati,  welcome  L.,  271- 
272 

Gettysburg,  mentioned,  478,  496;  victory, 
498-499,  503-504;  L’s  feeling  during 
battle,  499-500;  victory  cheers  L.,  507; 
battle-field  purchase  and  dedication, 
511-515;  L’s  dream,  583 
Gettysburg  Address,  rewritten  many  times, 
471;  world’s  model,  473;  text,  512-515 
Gillespie,  Joseph,  quoted,  80,  83;  conversa- 
tion with  L.  on  slavery,  148-149 
Grant,  Frederick  D.,  519 
Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  mentioned,  403,  464, 
542;  opinion  of  McClellan’s  difficulties, 
367,  404;  victories  in  Tenn.,  385; 
Vicksburg  campaign,  500-502;  L’s 
letter  on  Vicksburg,  502;  L’s  dissatis- 
faction before  Vicksburg,  503;  com- 
mands military  division  of  Miss.,  516; 
rank  of  Lieut.-General  created  for,  516; 
assumes  command  of  army,  517;  sum- 
moned to  Washington,  517;  at  White 
House  reception,  517-518;  receives 
commission  from  L.,  519;  refusal  to  dine 
at  White  House,  519-520;  L’s  impres- 
sions of  personality  and  military  capa- 
cities, 510-521;  L.’s  letter  of  commenda- 
tion, 521;  interview  with  L.  on  military 
matters,  Grant’s  own  account,  521-522; 
L’s  suggestion  about  Early’s  repulse, 
522;  Grant’s  reply,  523;  L.  seeks  to 
know  his  political  aspirations,  523;  true 
version  of  whiskey  anecdote,  524;  L. 


tells  story  of  Sykes’s  dog,  525-526; 
dispute  with  Stanton,  526;  upheld  by 
president,  526-527;  presidential  possi- 
bility, 532;  attacks  Early,  537;  telegram 
to  L.  on  re-election,  548;  peace  overture 
made  through,  554;  forces  Lee  to  Rich- 
mond, 561-562;  visited  by  L.  at  City 
Point,  562-563;  interview  with  L.  at 
City  Point,  563-566;  L’s  visit  at 
Petersburg,  567-568;  Lee’s  surrender, 
573;  praised  by  L.,  574,  575;  instruc- 
tions for  conference  with  Lee,  577-578; 
denies  Stone  River  victory,  583;  drives 
with  L.  and  attends  last  cabinet  meeting, 
583;  declines  invitation  to  theater,  586 
Grant,  Mrs.  Ulysses  S.,  527 
Gray,  Dr.,  officiated  at  L’s  funeral,  597 
Great  Britain.  See  England 
Gladstone,  William  Ewart,  opinion  of 
second  inaugural  address,  559-560 
Globe  Tavern,  Springfield,  111.,  L’s  first 
home  after  marriage,  96 
Godbey,  Squire,  quoted,  46 
Goldsborough,  Lewis  M.,  390 
Goodrich,  Judge,  L.  declines  partnership, 
109 

Greeley,  Horace,  opposes  L’s  policy  in 
N.  Y.  “Tribune,”  429—431;  publishes 
“The  prayer  of  twenty  millions,”  429; 
L’s  reply,  429-430;  conference  with  L., 
430-431;  L.’s  “pigeonhole”  for,  474; 
seeks  successor  to  L.,  480;  peace  im- 
portunities and  L’s  famous  reply,  539 
Green,  L.  M.,  quoted,  27 
Greene,  Bowlin,  friend  of  L.,  52 
Greene,  W.  G.,  30 
Gridley,  G.  A.,  137 
Grigsby,  Aaron,  17 
Grigsby,  Nat,  quoted,  13 
Griswold,  John  A.,  builder  of  “Monitor,” 
345-347 

Grimes,  James  W.,  368 
Grover,  A.  J.,  quoted,  248-249 
Gulliver,  John  P.,  estimate  of  L’s  speeches, 
221-223 

Gurley,  Rev.  Dr.,  officiated  at  L’s  funeral, 
597 

Haines,  Elijah  M.,  quoted,  162-164;  209, 
228-229 

Hale,  John  P.,  mentioned,  185,  297;  calls 
on  L.,  583 

Hall,  Doctor,  attends  L.,  593 
Hall,  John,  263 

Hall,  Newman,  quoted,  397;  officiated  at 
L’s  funeral,  596 

Halleck,  Henry  W.,  mentioned,  393,  413, 
487,  490,  519;  telegrams  to  Meade,  504- 
505;  military  ability,  505-506;  at  L’s 
death-bed,  591 
Halpine,  Colonel,  310 


610 


INDEX 


Hamlin,  Hannibal,  nominated  for  vice- 
president,  234 

Hampton  Roads,  meeting  of  peace  com- 
missioners, 555-557 

Hanks,  Dennis,  recollections  of  L’s  boy- 
hood, 6-9;  story-telling  ability,  31;  L. 
visits,  263 

Hanks,  John,  L’s  fellow-laborer,  24;  bears 
campaign  banner,  230 
Hanks,  Nancy.  See  Lincoln;  Nancy  Hanks 
Hannegan,  Edward  A.,  126 
Hapgood,  Norman,  quoted,  359 
Hardin,  Colonel,  4 

Hardin,  John  J.,  mentioned,  186;  congres- 
sional candidate,  99;  killed  in  Mexican 
War,  131 

Harding,  George,  attorney  in  McCormick 
Reaper  case,  173-174 

Harper’s  Ferry,  Union  forces  driven  out, 
333-334 

Harris,  G.  W.,  quoted,  87-88,  128 
Harris,  Ira,  368;  daughter,  587,  593 
Harris,  Thomas  L.,  160 
Harrisburg,  L’s  visit  on  inaugural  journey, 
278 

Hatch,  O.  M.,  mentioned,  227;  quoted, 
417-418 

Hawk,  Mr.,  actor,  describes  assassination, 
588 

Hay,  John  M.,  private  secretary,  266; 

quoted,  305-307 
Hayes,  General,  504 
Hazel,  Caleb,  L’s  schoolmaster,  11 
Henderson,  J.  B.,  constitutional  amend- 
ment introduced  by,  554;  interviews 
L.  about  pardons,  578-580 
Henry,  Dr.,  493 

Herndon,  William  H.,  law  partnership  with 
L.,  71,  97-98;  letter  of  advice  from  L., 
104-105;  quoted,  24-26,  48,  92,  95,  113, 
114,  115,  116,  121,  132,  140,  154,  165, 
166,  167-168,  178;  sympathy  for  L.,  116; 
abolitionist  efforts,  165-169;  “Lincoln 
and  Herndon’’  law  sign,  264 
Hitt,  Robert  R.,  198 

Holland,  Josiah  G.,  quoted,  11,  14-15,  76- 
77,  98,  111,  236,  268-269,  277-278,  283- 
284,  351,  371 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  L’s  fondness  for 
his  poetry,  466 

Holt,  Joseph,  appeals  for  Union,  321,  322; 
possibility  as  secretary  of  war,  372; 
candidate  for  attorney  general,  552 
Homestead  law,  opinion  of  L.  on,  273 
Hood,  Thomas,  L’s  fondness  for  his  poetry, 
466 

Hooker,  Joseph,  493;  visited  by  L.  before 
Chancellorsville,  465;  interview  with  L. 
and  promotion,  487-488;  “Fighting  Joe 
Hooker,”  488;  L’s  letter  to,  489-490; 
Hooker’s  comment,  492;  accused  of 


drunkenness,  492;  Sumner’s  opinion  of, 
492;  self-confidence,  491-492;  unequal 
to  responsibility,  497;  asked  to  be  re- 
lieved, 498;  aids  Grant  in  victories,  516 
Hossack,  John,  248 

“ House-Divided-Against-Itself  ” speech, 
quoted,  180,  426,  473 
Howard,  Senator,  368 
Hoyne,  Thomas,  237 
Hoyt,  Governor,  389 

Hubbard,  Gurdon  S.,  quoted,  49;  works 
for  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  49; 
interview  with  L.,  458-459 
Hunter,  David,  attempts  military  emanci- 
pation, 447 

Hunter,  Robert  M.  T.,  Southern  peace 
commissioner,  555-556 

lies,  Elijah,  service  in  Black  Hawk  War,  39 
Illinois,  Lincoln  family  settles  in,  21; 
slavery  sentiment,  65-66;  first  to  ratify 
13th  amendment,  554 
Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal,  favored  by 
Lincoln,  49 

Indiana,  early  home  of  Lincoln,  6 
Indianapolis,  speech,  on  inaugural  journey, 
268 

Indians,  hostile  in  Kentucky,  2;  execution 
refused  by  L.,  453 

Invention,  L’s  interest  in  history  of,  1 18— 
119;  navigation  device,  24-26 

Jackson,  Andrew,  L.  compared  with,  413, 
549 

Jackson,  Thomas  Jonathan  (Stonewall), 
414;  death,  492 
Jayne,  William,  quoted,  161 
Jefferson,  Joseph,  quoted,  79 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  360;  L.  ranked  with, 
549 

Johnson,  Andrew,  mentioned,  100,  585; 
nominated  for  vice-president,  534;  sworn 
in,  557;  at  L’s  death-bed,  591;  at 
funeral,  596 

Johnson,  Bradley,  Confederate  general, 
raid  of  country  around  Washington,  536 
Johnson,  Oliver,  visit  to  L.,  468-469 
Johnson,  Reverdy,  attorney  in  McCormick 
case,  173,  174,  176 

Johnston,  Albert  Sidney,  at  Vicksburg,  501 
Johnston,  Joseph  E.,  mentioned,  578, 
579;  Sherman  defeats,  561-562;  plan 
to  force  surrender,  564-565;  L’s  dream, 
584 

Johnston,  John,  step-brother  of  L.,  24; 
indolent  and  shiftless  nature,  121;  L’s 
letters  to,  120-123 

Jones,  J.  Russell,  L.  consults  about  Grant 
523 

Jones,  Laura,  L’s  leniency  to,  453 
Joy,  James  F.,  237 


INDEX 


611 


Judd,  Norman  B.,  L.  visits,  117-118; 
member  of  inaugural  party,  266,  275; 
mentioned,  161,  162,  189,  227,  232 
Judd,  Mrs.  Norman  B.,  quoted,  117-118 
Julian,  George  W.,  quoted,  253-254,  375, 
378 

Kansas,  L’s  visit  to,  213-214 
Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  controversy,  147, 
152-155,  159-161 

Kelly,  William  D.,  quoted,  356-358,  465 
Kelton,  Colonel,  413 

Kentucky,  Lincoln  family  in,  2;  plea  for 
neutrality,  270;  importance  of  neutral- 
ity, 320-322;  concessions  made  to,  431 
“Kerr,  Orpheus  C.,”  (Robert  Henry 
Newell),  334,  foot-note;  L’s  great  fond- 
ness for  his  writings,  334,  467 
Keyes,  General,  quoted,  381 
King,  Preston,  303 
Kirkpatrick,  William,  36 
K,now-Nothing-Party,  153 
Knox,  Joe,  171 

Labor  and  capital  discussed  by  Lincoln, 
348-350 

Laboring-men,  L’s  speech  to  Cincinnati 
Germans,  272-273 
Lamborn,  Josiah,  74,  89,  186 
Lamon,  Ward  H.,  mentioned,  81;  member 
of  inaugural  party,  266,  275,  278;  quoted, 
12,  16,  29-30,  58,  84,  112,  114,  115,  154, 
161,  229,  254-255,  256,  263,  266,  267 
Lane,  General,  309 

Lectures.  See  Speeches  and  Lectures 
Lee,  Harry  T.,  impression  of  Gettysburg 
address,  514 

Lee,  Robert  E.,  mentioned,  300,  437,  499, 
517;  Pennsylvania  invasion,  333,  497; 
Manassas  successes,  411,  414;  Antietam 
defeat,  414;  Chancellorsville  victory, 
492;  Gettysburg  defeat,  498,  501; 

Appomattox  surrender,  517,  573;  Rich- 
mond, retreat  to,  561-562;  Union  plans 
for  capture,  564— 565;  Richmond,  re- 
treat from,  568;  Grant  ordered  not  to 
confer  with,  577-578;  L’s  comment  on 
portrait,  582 

Letters  and  telegrams,  acceptance  of  presi- 
dential nomination,  244;  correspondence 
burdensome,  474;  written  by  hand,  474; 
to  Bryant  concerning  party  pledges,  248; 
to  Mrs.  Bixby  on  loss  of  sons,  397-398; 
to  Curtis  on  factional  quarrels,  455;  to 
Douglas,  invitation  to  debate,  182; 
telegram  to  Grant  during  Early’s  raid; 
522-523;  to  Grant  after  Vicksburg,  502, 
to  Grant,  expressing  satisfaction,  521; 
to  Greeley  on  emancipation,  429-430; 
to  Herndon,  giving  advice,  104-105;  to 
Hooker,  on  latter’s  appointment,  489- 


490;  to  Judd  about  campaign  contribu- 
tion, 209;  to  Judd  regarding  the  presi- 
dency, 228;  to  Kentucky  unionist  on 
slavery,  446-448;  to  McClellan  on  over- 
cautiousness, 392-395;  to  McClellan 
concerning  route  to  Richmond,  405-407; 
to  McNeill  relating  to  fees  for  speeches, 
223-224;  to  Schofield,  advice  on  fac- 
tional quarrels,  455-456;  to  Speed  on 
slavery,  151-153;  to  Speed’s  sister  on 
slavery,  148;  to  Springfield  friends  after 
Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg,  507-508;  to 
step-brother  on  death  of  father,  120-123; 
to  Washburne,  about  forts,  261;  to 
Washburne,  against  compromises,  260- 
261;  to  Weed  on  secession,  262;  “To 
whom  it  may  concern,”  safe  conduct  for 
peace  envoys,  539 
Lewis,  Robert,  334 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  grandfather  of  L., 
settles  in  Kentucky,  2;  death,  3 
LINCOLN,  ABRAHAM 
Characteristics,  inherited,  5,  11;  in 
boyhood  and  youth,  9,  16,  20,  35,  49, 
53,  75-77;  handwriting,  19;  elements 
of  greatness,  53;  claims  to  be  a fatalist, 
108;  absent-mindedness,  112,  114; 
debt  abhorred,  130;  as  a lawyer,  142- 
146,  235;  as  a public  speaker,  171-172, 
183-188,  194-197,  204-206;  master  of 
himself,  235;  compared  with  Jackson, 
260;  attitude  toward  public  visitors, 
301-302;  lack  of  sovereignty,  304; 
simplicity  of  manner,  305-306;  quali- 
ties of  a leader,  307-308;  morbid 
dislike  of  guard,  310-311;  forbear- 
ance, 315,  320;  precision  and  minute- 
ness of  information,  358;  living  power 
of  integrity  and  elasticity,  359;  great- 
ness in  moral  strength,  359-361; 
summed  up  by  Nicolay,  361-362; 
peace-maker,  364,  456;  wisdom  and 
moderation,  374;  guileless  and  single- 
hearted,  387;  power  to  make  quick 
and  important  decisions,  412;  will 
compared  to  Andrew  Jackson,  413; 
easily  accessible  to  visitors,  450;  no 
case  too  trivial,  451;  ability  to  say  no, 
451,  452;  diplomacy  in  Schofield- 
Rosecrans  episode,  456-457;  loyalty 
to  friends,  458;  fortitude,  462;  imagi- 
nation versus  reason,  466;  tireless 
worker,  473;  magnanimity  toward  op- 
ponents, 476-477;  stern  when  neces- 
sary, 477-478;  candor  and  friendliness 
in  criticism,  489-490;  willingness  to 
admit  errors,  502;  quickness  of  per- 
ception, 527;  tenacity,  527;  Sher- 
man’s tribute,  565-566;  unselfishness, 
566-567;  magnanimity  toward  south- 
ern leaders,  580;  clemency  in  granting 
pardons,  586 


612 


INDEX 


Ambitions,  presentiment  of  future 
greatness,  18-19,  27,  53;  desire  to 
be  the  “DeWitt  Clinton  of  Illi- 
nois,” 61;  encouraged  by  friends, 
116;  generous  quality  of,  159; 
senatorial,  161-164;  presidential, 
331;  not  concerned  over  political 
future,  529-532 

Appearance , at  fifteen,  12;  at  nine- 
teen, 20;  in  1832.,  42;  in  1847, 
105-106;  in  1849,  190-110,  111; 
“man  of  sorrows,”  113-114; 
singular  walk,  114-115;  on  the 
circuit,  125-127,  175-176;  face 
transformed  in  speaking,  181;  in 
repose  and  on  the  stump,  194-195, 
197,  in  1858,  201,  205;  in  1860, 
215;  height,  247;  as  President- 
elect, 253-254,  274-275,  279; 
arrival  at  Washington,  282;  in- 
auguration, 285-286;  in  his  re- 
ception room,  302-303;  changed 
by  anxiety,  355;  Nicolay’s  de- 
scription, 361;  face  a surprise  to 
Winchell,  382;  unconventional 
dress,  356-357,  377,  450;  changed 
by  grief,  462-463;  Frederick 
Douglass’  impressions,  484,  485, 
486;  saddest  man  in  the  world, 
543-546 

Courage , fighting  qualities,  27-29; 
encounter  with  a bully,  29;  in 
Black  Hawk  War,  38-40;  rescues 
Baker  from  a fight,  91-92;  duel 
with  Shields,  93;  under  discour- 
agements, 292,  331;  did  not  fear 
attempt  upon  his  life,  540-542 

Honesty , at  nineteen,  20;  as  a sales- 
man, 31;  “Honest  Abe,”  31,  53, 
68,  171;  trust  funds  never  used, 
46;  in  voting,  101-102;  as  a 
lawyer,  130,  138,  143;  refused  to 
defend  the  guilty,  136-137;  in- 
tellectual and  moral,  144 

Horsemanship , 415-416,  491,  562, 
563 

Justice , anecdote  of  Black  Hawk 
War,  38;  refusal  to  countenance 
injustice,  130-131,  453;  sense  of, 
476-478;  injustice  to  Gen.  Meade, 
503-506 

Literary  methods  and  style,  early 
example,  63-65;  example  from 
Douglas  debates,  89-90;  methods, 
470-471;  style,  471-473 

Kindness  and  sympathy,  16;  to 
animals,  13,  76;  everybody’s 
friend,  35;  in  his  home,  113; 
regard  for  old  friends  and  relatives, 
119,  121-123;  to  old  colored 
woman,  128;  to  young  attorneys, 
130;  for  Col.  Scott,  410;  for 


soldiers,  395-397,  400-401,  499- 
500;  embarrassing  results  of 
friendliness,  470 

Melancholy  and  sadness,  caused  by 
love  of  Anne  Rutledge,  49; 
temporary  attack,  95-96;  causes, 
112-113;  struggles  with,  115-117; 
depression  in  1854,  161;  evidence 
of,  170,  175,  198,  246,  361;  over 
defeat  for  senate,  204;  on  inau- 
gural journey,  266-267;  after 
Bull  Run,  330-331;  over  war 
victims,  401-402,  500;  engraved 
on  features,  462-463;  summer  of 
1864,  537-538,  542-546;  Matthew 
Arnold’s  poem,  546 
Memory,  for  faces  and  names,  9,  39, 
40;  for  events,  36;  retentive, 
467,  468 

Military  sagacity , 380-386,  390-395, 
405-407,  411-414,  416-417,  502, 
506 

Modesty , unassuming  manner  in 
politics,  163;  about  printing 
speeches,  216;  in  regard  to  presi- 
dential nomination,  227-228;  as 
president,  304,  306,  307,  459; 
natural,  360;  about  second  nomi- 
nation, 535;  on  news  of  second 
election,  547 

Popularity,  as  a young  man,  28-29, 
75;  in  New  Salem,  35,  53;  in 
Black  Hawk  War,  39,  41;  uni- 
versal favorite,  130;  in  Kansas, 
213,  214;  at  Republican  conven- 
tion in  1860,  229-230;  among  old 
friends  and  relatives,  263-264; 
Confederate  soldiers’  greeting  at 
Petersburg,  567-568 
Physical  strength,  in  boyhood,  9; 

incidents  showing,  91-93,  389,  401 
Religious  nature,  knowledge  of  the 
Bible,  1 18-119;  shown  in  letter  to 
step-brother,  120;  reliance  on 
Divine  help,  265,  267,  268;  in- 
fluence of  son’s  death,  351-352; 
spirituality  highly  organized,  360, 
361,  362;  religious  spirit,  385- 
386;  shown  in  fortitude,  462; 
quotes  the  Bible,  473;  his  views 
on,  478-479;  not  a church  mem- 
ber, 478;  shown  in  second  inau- 
gural address,  557-559 
Tact,  357;  in  official  relations,  368- 
370,  378;  anecdotes  illustrating, 
451-457 

Temperance,  reply  to  Douglas’s 
taunt,  83,  85,  130,  203 
Voice,  magnetism  of,  59;  not  pleas- 
ing, 142,  221;  clear  and  vigorous, 
205;  high  but  clear,  302,  515 
Wit  and  humor,  power  of  satire,  17; 


INDEX 


613 


examples  of,  56-57,  80-83,  139- 
140;  love  of  practical  joke,  57; 
no  end  to  his  fund  of,  84;  used 
against  adversaries,  87,  139-140, 
202-204;  chief  attraction  at 
dinners,  110;  cultivated,  113; 
stories  not  always  dignified,  139; 
repartee,  157;  advantage  of  L. 
over  Douglas,  186, 195;  indelicacy 
charge  refuted,  258;  safety-valve 
of  L.,  332-333;  enjoyment  of 
“Orpheus  C.  Kerr,”  334;  at 
cabinet  meetings,  336;  soldiers’ 
humor  appreciated  by  L.,  399- 
400;  humorists  liked  by  L.,  467- 
468 

Private  Life:  ancestry,  1-5;  L’s  own 
account,  32-33;  birth,  1,  4;  illegitimate 
parentage  legend,  4;  Lincoln  family  in 
Kentucky,  4;  removal  to  Indiana,  5-6; 
in  Indiana,  6-19;  reminiscences  by 
Dennis  Hanks,  7-9;  death  of  his 
mother,  10;  love  for  his  mother,  5,10, 
21;  tribute  to  her  influence,  11;  his 
father  remarries,  11;  affection  for 
step-mother,  11,  119,  123,  124,  263; 
moves  to  Macon  Co.,  111.,  21,  33;  his 
father’s  possessions,  21;  death  of 
father,  22;  L.  helps  build  log  cabin, 
23;  splitting  rails,  23;  flatboat 
voyages  down  the  Mississippi,  23-24; 
settles  in  New  Salem,  24-26,  33; 
patent  for  navigation  device,  24-26; 
athletic  skill,  27-29;  first  meeting 
with  Smoot,  29;  meets  Governor 
Yates,  30;  love  of  story-telling,  30-31; 
home  life,  31, 113, 115;  autobiography, 
32-34;  struggle  with  poverty,  45,  47, 
69-71,  209,  225;  love  for  Anne  Rut- 
ledge, 49-52;  close  of  his  boyhood  and 
youth,  52-54;  New  Salem  a desolate 
waste,  54;  moves  to  Springfield,  33, 
69-70;  struggles  of  a young  lawyer, 
69-84;  meeting  with  Speed,  69; 
shares  his  home,  70,  88;  in  state 
politics,  85-96;  Mary  Todd’s  satirical 
article,  93;  love  affairs  with  Matilda 
Edwards  and  Mary  Todd,  94-95;  de- 
rangement, 95;  goes  to  Kentucky  with 
Speed,  96;  marriage  to  Mary  Todd, 
95,  96;  lives  at  Globe  Tavern,  96; 
purchases  Dressar  home,  96;  enters 
national  politics,  97-108;  back  in 
Springfield,  109;  simplicity  of  home 
life  in  Springfield,  110;  income  from 
law  practice,  110;  property  owned, 
111;  his  children,  111-112;  L.  as 
husband  and  father,  113;  marriage 
unhappy,  112-117;  did  his  own 
marketing,  114;  visits  Chicago,  117; 
regard  for  relatives,  119;  purchases 
home  for  father,  119;  letters  to  step- 


brother, 120-123;  idol  of  his  step- 
mother, 123-124;  wealth,  not  desired 
by  L.,  125;  L.  as  a lawyer,  125-146; 
careless  about  money,  130;  keeping 
partnership  accounts,  133;  anecdote 
about  his  wealth,  216;  summer  home 
during  presidency,  401;  home  life  in 
White  House,  464-465;  desire  to  live 
in  California,  549;  plans  for  retire- 
ment, 584-585. 

Education , early  education,  7-9, 
11-19;  early  schools  attended, 
11-13;  his  copy  book  inscription, 
13;  first  efforts  in  oomposition, 
13;  mental  training  from  reading, 
14;  scrap-book  kept  in  youth,  14; 
handwriting  at  seventeen,  19; 
book  of  arithmetic  examples,  19; 
knowledge  of  astronomy  and 
geology,  20-21;  study  of  gram- 
mar, 26-27;  L.’s  own  account,  33; 
knowledge  of  drama,  79;  L.  as 
a student,  130-131;  musical 
taste,  466-467;  unashamed  of 
early  deficiencies,  468-469 
Books  and  reading , influence  of  first 
books,  8,  14-16;  his  own  testi- 
mony, 15;  the  ruined  volume,  14, 
16;  method  of  reading,  131; 
wrote  verses,  132;  books  in  White 
House  office,  300;  love  for  Shake- 
speare, Browning,  and  Byron,  387; 
memory  for  poetry,  356;  poets 
best  loved,  466-467;  humorists 
liked,  467;  best-loved  books,  468; 
novel  reading,  469 
Employments , first  work,  16;  first 
dollar  earned,  17-18;  flatboat 
constructed  for  commerical  enter- 
prise, 17-18;  his  first  employer, 
19-20;  first  flatboat  journey  to 
New  Orleans,  195;  second  flat- 
boat  journey  to  New  Orleans, 
23-24;  clerk  at  New  Salem,  26- 
34;  Offutt’s  store  closed,  35; 
brief  career  as  country  merchant, 
42-44;  blacksmith  trade  con- 
sidered, 42;  surveys  and  plans 
Petersburg,  47,  67;  notion  to 
become  a carpenter,  71 
Law  career , early  interest  in  law,  9, 
19;  study  and  practice,  33-43; 
begins  study  of,  46-47;  begins 
practice,  47;  period  covered,  55; 
reverence  for  law,  64;  in  Spring- 
field,  69;  without  plans  or  money, 
69-70;  asking  credit,  70;  partner- 
ship with  Stuart  and  Logan,  71; 
with  Herndon,  71;  riding  the 
circuit,  71-84;  borrows,  then 
owns  a horse,  71;  welcome  by 
other  lawyers,  72;  humility,  72; 


614 


INDEX 


court  scene,  72-73;  freedom  in 
social  intercourse,  73;  leading 
lawyers  of  the  day,  73-74;  ad- 
ventures and  hardships,  74; 
popularity  and  appearance,  75- 
76;  not  afraid  of  unpopular  cases, 
77;  wins  case  of  widow  of  revolu- 
tionary pensioner,  77-79;  wins 
case  for  Jefferson,  79;  ridiculing 
the  eloquence  of  opponent,  80-81; 
breach  of  promise  suit,  81-82; 
ready  wit,  83-84;  dissolved  part- 
nership with  Logan,  97;  partner- 
ship with  Herndon,  97-98;  de- 
clined partnership  with  Goodrich, 
109;  resumes  practice  in  1849, 
109, 125-146;  legal  fee  ridiculously 
small,  125;  appearance  in  court, 
125-128;  defending  a colored 
woman,  128;  dividing  fee  with 
defendant,  128-129;  refused  to 
take  unjust  cases,  130-131; 
keeping  accounts,  133;  fees 
moderate,  133;  defends  son  of 
Jack  Armstrong,  133-136;  would 
not  press  for  pay,  135-136;  refused 
to  defend  guilty,  136-137;  would 
never  advise  unwise  suits,  137- 
138;  returns  fee,  138;  anecdotes 
of  L.  at  the  bar,  138-140;  his 
rank  as  a lawyer,  140-146;  special 
characteristics,  145 

Recreations,  games,  129;  dancing, 
210;  theatre,  469-470;  fondness 
for  walking,  46 
Public  Life, 

Nicknames,  “Railsplitter,”  9,  23, 
230-231;  “Uncle  Abe,”  75;  “Old 
Abe,”  105;  “Honest  Abe,”  31, 
53,  68,  171 

Oratory,  first  efforts,  27;  reputation, 
62;  spoke  without  manuscript, 
89;  manner  of  speaking  described, 
100,  127,  172;  used  old-fashioned 
words,  139,  146;  jury  speeches, 
146;  eloquence  of  Bloomington 
speech,  167-168;  compared  with 
Douglas,  89,  177,  182-207; 

Cooper  Institute  speech,  217-221; 
New  England  tour,  221-223; 
W.  J.  Bryan’s  opinion,  473; 
Gettysburg  address,  512-515; 
eloquence  of  second  inaugural, 
557-559 

Public  questions , L’s  views  on: 
Mexican  war,  101-102,  131; 

Missouri  compromise,  150-160; 
Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  152-155; 
secession  views,  262,  287-291, 
320-321;  labor  and  capital,  348- 
350;  emancipation,  447,  482-484; 
reconstruction  policy,  576-581 


Slavery , L.  opposes  pro-slavery 
enactment  in  Illinois,  65-66; 
attitude  shown  in  Douglas  de- 
bates, 89-90,  191-194,  205;  sale 
of  slave  girl,  147-148;  early  view’s, 
148-149;  opposed  slavery  in 
Congress  and  in  speeches,  149- 
151;  views  in  letters  to  Speed, 
151-153;  argues  eternal  right  at 
Bloomington  Convention,  167- 
168;  resolution  adopted,  169; 
“House  divided  against  itself,” 
177-182;  Cincinnati  speech,  211— 
212;  L.’s  policy,  419-446;  Chan- 
ning  interview,  427;  Chicago 
clergymen’s  delegation,  427;  Gree- 
ley and  L.,  429-431;  L’s  own 
account,  446-448;  4th  annual 
message,  552 

Early  political  career , change  in 
views,  8;  made  election  clerk,  32; 
appointed  postmaster  at  Salem, 
44;  made  deputy  surveyor,  47; 
natural  taste  for  politics,  55; 
candidate  for  presidential  elector, 
87;  Whig  leader,  87;  canvassed 
Illinois  in  Clay-Polk  campaign, 
99;  leader  of  Whigs  in  Congress, 
100;  Whig  delegate  to  National 
Convention,  104;  seeks  appoint- 
ment as  land  commissioner,  106- 
107;  little  interested  in  politics 
until  1854,  147;  building  up  the 
Free  Soil  party,  150;  admits 
being  a Whig,  153, 157;  generosity 
toward  rivals,  160;  considered 
for  vice  president,  170,  228-229; 
activity  in  Fremont  campaign, 
170-173;  no  political  enemies,  232; 
bored  with  talk  on  politics,  240 

Illinois  legislature , defeat  and  elec- 
tion, 33;  first  candidacy  unsuc- 
cessful, 41-42,  47;  campaign  of 
1834,  and  election,  48;  aids  canal 
bill,  49;  reputation  in,  49;  re- 
nominated, 1836,  55;  campaign 
methods,  56-60;  lightning  rod 
anecdote,  56-57;  not  an  aristo- 
crat, 57-58;  reply  to  Early,  58- 
59;  letter  to  Allen,  59-60;  elec- 
tion, 60;  journey  to  capital,  60; 
meets  Judge  Caton,  61;  first 
meeting  with  Douglas,  61-62; 
removal  of  Illinois  Capitol,  62; 
an  early  speech,  62-65;  opposes 
pro-slavery  enactment,  65-66; 
contest  with  Ewing,  66-67; 
campaign  of  1838  and  election, 
85;  end  of  legislative  service,  86; 
election  and  resignation,  1864, 
160-161;  senatorial  contest,  161- 
161 


INDEX 


615 


Black  Hawk  War,  33;  candidate  for 
captain,  36;  memories  of  L.,  36— 
37 ; first  experience  drilling  troops, 
37;  rescues  an  Indian,  37-38; 
meeting  with  Stuart,  38-39;  L. 
re-enlists,  39;  recollects  Major 
Anderson  after  29  years,  39; 
courage  as  a soldier,  40;  his  own 
account  of  his  service,  40—41; 
popularity  with  comrades,  41 
Congress , aspirations,  97;  elected  to 
lower  house,  1846,  34,  99-100, 159; 
Whig  leader,  100;  reputation  in, 
100;  first  speech,  101;  Mexican 
War  attitude,  101-102;  notable 
speech  and  ridicule  of  Gen.  Cass, 
102-104;  bill  for  abolition  of 
slavery,  104;  campaign  methods, 
131-132;  senatorial  contest, 
1855,  161-163;  defeated,  164; 
senatorial  contest  with  Douglas, 
1858,  177-207;  defeated,  208; 
depression  of  L.  over,  208-209 
Presidency , presentiment  of  L.  con- 
cerning, 18-19;  modest  over 
proposed  nomination,  144;  almost 
in  his  grasp,  213;  Cooper  In- 
stitute speech  aids  toward,  220, 
232;  suggested  as  a candidate, 
227-228;  nomination,  231-237; 
sittings  for  life  mask,  237-243; 
cast  of  hands,  242;  notified  of 
nomination,  243-244;  opposi- 
tion of  Springfield  clergymen, 
247;  election,  1860,  250-251; 
non-partisan  appointments,  256— 
257;  unembarrassed  by  promises, 
259,  260;  preparation  for  in- 
auguration, 263;  journey  to 
Washington,  265-280;  stories  of 
disguises,  280;  week  preceding 
inauguration,  281-283;  cere- 
monies described,  283-292;  oath 
administered,  284,  291;  first 
night  at  the  White  House,  292; 
cabinet  appointments,  293;  cabi- 
net changes,  294;  difficulties 
selecting  loyal  and  capable  men, 
295;  impression  on  people,  298— 
310;  modest  as  president,  306— 
307;  fears  for  attempted  assassi- 
nation, 308-310;  L’s  dislike  for 
guard,  311;  Civil  War  begun, 
312;  first  call  for  troops,  312-314; 
creates  excitement,  314;  Boston 
riots,  315;  loyalty  of  Douglas, 
315-316;  proclamation  of  block- 
ade of  Southern  ports,  316-318; 
blockade  extended,  318;  Virginia 
convention  waits  on  L.,  318;  L’s 
war  policy  outlined,  319-320; 
L’s  conciliatory  course,  320-321; 


tries  to  save  Kentucky,  321-322; 
special  session  of  Congress,  322; 
L’s  first  message,  322-325;  diffi- 
culties of  a new  administration, 
325—326;  Bull  Run  disaster,  326; 
visits  the  army  in  Virginia,  327; 
depression  following  Bull  Run, 
329-331;  unfaltering  courage, 
331;  relief  in  story-telling,  332- 
333;  depression  relieved  by  hu- 
mor, 333—336;  measuring  up  with 
Sumner,  336;  diplomacy  in 
Mason  and  Slidell  affair,  340- 
344;  in  French  invasion  of  Mexi- 
co, 345;  building  the  “ Monitor,” 

346- 347;  first  annual  message, 

347- 350;  reception  at  White 
House,  350;  illness  and  death  at 
the  White  House,  351-352;  secret 
service  incidents,  352-353;  an- 
noyed by  office-seekers,  353;  Mr. 
Ross  at  the  White  House,  353— 
356;  William  Kelley  at  the  White 
House,  356;  Goldwin  Smith’s 
impressions,  356-359;  tributes 
from  Hapgood,  Bigelow,  and 
Nicolay,  359-362;  cabinet  rela- 
tions, 363-379;  with  Stanton, 
364-379;  with  Seward,  366-371; 
Cameron  and  Stanton,  371-373; 
L.  considers  McClellan  over- 
cautious, 392-395;  L.  visits 
hospitals,  400-401;  differences 
of  opinion  with  McClellan,  404; 
letter  to  him  about  campaign, 
405-406;  urges  action,  406-407; 
L’s  defence  of  him,  407;  L.  re- 
calls him,  410;  reinstates  him, 
411-412;  McClellan’s  own  ac- 
count, 413;  correspondence,  416- 
417;  L’s  summing  up  of  McClel- 
lan, 417—418;  signs  emancipa- 
tion proclamation,  441;  his  life 
as  president,  449;  society  at  the 
White  House,  449-450;  public 
receptions,  450;  tact  with  favor 
seekers  and  bores,  451-453;  sense 
of  justice,  453;  answering  im- 
proper questions,  454;  settles  the 
Curtis-Gamble  dispute,  454-457; 
appoints  Schofield,  455-457; 
views  of  his  own  position,  459; 
dealing  with  cranks,  459-461; 
Fredericksburg  disaster,  461-462; 
responsibility  of  his  position,  462- 
463;  home  life  in  the  White 
House,  464-465;  visits  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  465-466;  tireless 
worker,  473;  health,  473-474; 
his  letter  file,  474;  Agassiz  and  L., 
475-476;  his  official  acts  not 
influenced  by  personal  considera- 


616 


INDEX 


tion,  476-477;  criticism  of  the 
administration,  480-481;  war 
policy  opposed  by  Greeley,  480; 
by  high  official,  481;  Democrats 
of  the  North,  481;  Boston  aboli- 
tionists, 482-484;  effect  of  abuse, 
481;  Western  delegation,  484; 
personal  responsibility  for  policy, 
484;  interview  with  Douglas  on 
enlisting  colored  soldiers,  484-486; 
McClellan’s  removal,  487;  rela- 
tions with  Burnside,  487;  with 
Hooker,  487-490;  candor  and 
friendliness  with  officers,  489- 
490;  visits  army  of  the  Potomac, 
490-492;  his  view  of  Charleston 
attack,  490;  effect  of  Chancellors- 
ville  on  L.  492-493;  reads  Sted- 
mau’s  poem  to  cabinet,  494-495; 
the  tide  turns,  495;  Lee  invades 
Pennsylvania,  497;  Hooker 
proves  unfit,  497-498;  Meade 
appointed,  498;  L’s  feelings  dur- 
ing Gettysburg  battle,  498-500; 
joy  over  Vicksburg,  501-503; 
praise  of  Grant,  502;  criticism  of 
Meade  for  Lee’s  escape,  503-504; 
Meade  asks  to  be  relieved,  504; 
criticism  answered,  504;  resigna- 
tion not  insisted  upon,  505;  L’s 
opinion  modified,  506-507;  im- 
proved conditions,  507;  defence 
of  emancipation  proclamation 
507-508;  Thanksgiving  proclama- 
tion, 508-510;  fall  election,  1863, 
510;  L.  upheld,  511;  his  own 
comment,  511;  Gettysburg  dedi- 
cation, 512-515;  relations  with 
Grant,  516-527;  appoints  Grant 
Lieut-General,  516;  summons 
him  to  Washington,  517;  Grant 
receives  commission,  517-519; 
first  meeting  with  Grant,  520;  L’s 
letter  of  satisfaction,  521 ; military 
orders  issued  by  L.,  522;  interested 
in  Grant’s  career,  523;  interest 
in  Grant’s  political  aspirations, 
523;  Grant-Stanton  episode,  526- 
527;  Grant’s  opinion  of  Lincoln, 
527;  campaign  of  1864,  528-535; 
L’s  attitude  toward  a second 
term,  528-532;  New  England’s 
attitude  toward  the  administra- 
tion, 529;  relations  with  Chase, 
532-534,  549-550;  candidates  of 
1864,  532-533;  L’s  nomination, 
1864,  534;  acceptance  speech, 
535;  Early’s  raid,  532-537;  call 
for  more  troops,  537;  war  policy 
criticized,  537;  depression  of  L., 

538- 539;  campaign  of  1864, 

539- 540;  McClellan  a candidate, 


539;  L’s  secret  pledge  to  support 
successor,  540;  attempt  on  life, 
540-541;  effect  of  burdens  and 
anxiety  during  war,  542-546; 
election  of  1864,  victory,  546- 
549;  Grant’s  telegram,  548; 
Seward’s  tribute,  548-549; 
Chase’s  resignation,  549-550; 
other  cabinet  changes,  550-552: 
fourth  annual  message,  552; 
colored  people  at  White  House 
reception,  552-553;  negotiates 
with  Southern  peace  commis- 
sioners, 554-556;  assumes  re- 
sponsibility for  unpopular  mea- 
sures, 554-555;  scheme  for  com- 
pensation emancipation,  556-557; 
second  inauguration,  557-560; 
close  of  the  war,  561-563;  escapes 
office-seekers,  563;  with  Grant, 
Sherman,  and  Porter  at  City 
Point,  562-566;  on  the  River 
Queen,  563-566;  concern  about 
Schofield,  565;  on  the  Malvern 
566-567;  at  Petersburg,  567- 
568;  at  Richmond,  568-573; 
news  of  Richmond’s  fall,  568; 
visit  to  Richmond,  569;  wel- 
comed by  the  negroes,  571; 
Southerners’  reception,  572;  joy 
over  Lee’s  surrender,  573;  scene 
at  Capitol,  574-575;  L.’s  speech 
to  the  multitude,  576;  recon- 
struction views,  576-581;  in- 
structions to  Grant  on  final  con- 
ference with  Lee,  577-578;  feeling 
toward  the  South,  577-580; 
pardoning  confederates,  579-580; 
the  last  day:  talk  with  Robert, 
582;  receives  visitors,  583;  last 
cabinet  meeting,  583-584;  signifi- 
cant dreams,  583-584;  drive  with 
Mrs.  Lincoln,  584-585;  last  offi- 
cial acts,  585-587;  reaches  theatre, 
587;  the  shot  fired,  588;  Booth’s 
escape,  588-589;  Walt  Whitman’s 
description,  589;  Booth’s  plan, 
590;  Rathbone’s  account,  590; 
death-bed,  591;  Welles’s  account, 
591-594;  a nation’s  grief,  594- 
599;  funeral  ceremonies  at  the 
White  House,  596;  lying  in  state 
at  Capitol,  597;  funeral  train  to 
Springfield,  597-598;  interment, 
599 

Lincoln,  Edward  Baker,  L’s  son,  birth,  111 
Lincoln,  John,  L’s  great-grandfather,  2 
Lincoln,  John,  L’s  half-brother,  11 
Lincoln,  Josiah,  L’s  uncle,  3 
Lincoln,  Mary  Todd,  L’s  wife,  published 
satirical  articles  about  James  Shields,  93; 
ambitions,  94;  characteristics,  94;  en- 


INDEX 


617 


gagement  to  L.  broken,  95;  marriage,  94, 
96;  hospitality,  110;  pro-slavery  views, 
167;  meeting  with  Volk,  241;  on  in- 
augural journey,  266;  opinion  of  Riddle 
on,  275-276;  censured  for  frivolity,  450; 
defines  L’s  religion,  478;  visits  Army  of 
Potomac,  490;  receives  Grant,  518-520; 
fears  of  L’s  assassination,  540;  desired 
to  visit  Europe,  549;  last  drive  with  L., 
584-585;  plans  to  visit  theatre,  586;  at 
theatre,  587;  shock  at  assassination, 
589;  prostrated  by  L’s  death,  591;  at 
L’s  death-bed,  593;  unable  to  attend 
obsequies,  596 

Lincoln,  Matilda,  L’s  half-sister,  11 

Lincoln,  Mordecai,  son  of  Samuel  Lin- 
coln, 2 

Lincoln,  Mordecai,  L’s  uncle,  adventure 
with  Indians,  3;  character,  3-4;  L’s 
characterization  of,  5;  opinion  of  L. 
about,  264 

Lincoln,  Nancy  Hanks,  L’s  mother, 
marriage,  4;  slurs  upon  her  name,  4-5; 
character  and  appearance,  5;  Dennis 
Hanks’s  opinion  of,  7;  death  and  funeral, 
10;  epitaph,  10;  love  of  L.  for,  10,  21; 
influence  on  L.,  10-11;  tribute  of  L.  to, 
11,  352 

Lincoln,  Robert  Todd,  L’s  son,  birth,  111; 
student  at  Harvard,  221;  gripsack 
anecdote,  283;  student  and  soldier,  464; 
interview  with  L.  about  war,  582;  with 
his  mother  after  assassination,  591;  at 
L’s  death-bed,  594 

Lincoln,  Samuel,  L’s  English  forbear,  1 

Lincoln,  Sarah,  L’s  half-sister,  11;  death, 
17 

Lincoln,  Sarah,  L’s  sister,  birth,  4 

Lincoln,  Sarah  Johnston,  L’s  step-mother, 
marries  Thomas  Lincoln,  11;  mutual 
fondness  of  L.  and,  11,  119,  123-124, 
263;  quoted,  14;  death,  124;  visit  of  L. 
before  inauguration,  263 

Lincoln,  Thomas,  L’s  father,  birth,  3; 
rescue  from  Indians,  3;  marriage  to 
Nancy  Hanks,  4;  moves  to  Rock  Spring 
farm,  4;  moves  to  Indiana,  5-6;  second 
marriage,  11;  moves  to  Illinois,  21; 
nicknames,  21;  character-sketch,  21-23; 
death,  22,  120;  epitaph,  22;  story- 
telling ability,  31;  death  120;  solicitude 
for,  120-121;  L.  visits  grave,  263 

Lincoln,  Thomas,  L’s  son,  birth,  111; 
“Little  Tad,”  464;  companion  of 
father,  464-466,  490,  491;  death,  465; 
loved  by  soldiers,  465-466;  anecdote  of 
L’s  last  speech,  575-576;  grief  over 
death  of  father,  596 

Lincoln,  William  Wallace,  L’s  son,  birth, 
111;  death,  351,  464;  influence  of  death 
on  L.,  478 

Lincoln-Douglas  Debates,  comparative 


powers  of  speakers,  89,  177,  182-207. 
Extracts,  Springfield,  89-90;  Peoria, 
155-157;  Quincy  and  Alton,  191-194;  205 
Linder,  General,  quoted,  62,  66,  91;  talks 
against  time,  80 

Livermore,  George,  given  proclamation 
pen,  445 

Logan,  John  A.,  quoted,  286,  292 
Logan,  Mrs.  John  A.,  quoted,  197 
Logan,  Stephen  T.,  mentioned,  74,  186; 
law  partner  of  L.,  71;  Whig  debater,  89; 
partnership  dissolved,  97;  anecdote  of 
shirt,  139;  favors  L.  for  legislature,  161; 
elected  to  legislature,  162;  L’s  champion 
in  legislature,  163 

Longfellow,  Henry  Wadsworth,  abolitionist, 
345 

Long,  Dr.,  quoted,  181 
“ Long  Nine,”  delegates  to  senate  conven- 
tion, 1836,  60,  62 

Lookout  Mountain,  Grant’s  success,  516 
Loring,  George  B.,  quoted,  282-283 
Lossing,  Benson  J.,  quoted,  342-343 
Louisiana,  seceded,  261 
Louisville  “Journal,”  L’s  liking  for,  27 
Love  joy,  Elijah,  244 

Lovejoy,  Owen,  abolitionist,  244;  men- 
tioned, 378,  422,  423,  436 
Lowell,  James  Russell,  abolitionist,  245; 
quoted,  340 

Lucas,  Major,  quoted,  93 
Lyons,  Lord,  343 

McClellan,  George  B.,  mentioned,  356, 
375,  488;  Stanton’s  hostility,  367,  407, 
411;  difficulties  with  Army  of  Potomac, 
367;  letter  from  L.  on  over-cautiousness, 
392—395;  as  a soldier,  403-404;  Meade 
and  Grant  quoted,  404;  L’s  personal  re- 
gard for,  404;  appointed  general  of  Union 
armies,  405;  L.’s  letter  about  plan  of 
campaign,  405-406;  urging  action,  406- 
407;  L.  defends,  407;  recalled  from 
Peninsula;  succeeded  by  Pope,  410; 
reinstated,  411-412;  own  account,  413; 
Antietam  victory,  414;  inaction  after 
Antietam  criticized,  414;  quoted  on  L’s 
visit  to  army,  414-415;  correspondence 
with  L.,  416;  replaced  by  Burnside,  417; 
L’s  opinion,  417-418,  457-458;  bad 

news  from  the  Peninsula,  425;  fails  to 
reach  Richmond,  454;  removal  from 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  487;  L’s  presi- 
dential competitor,  539;  defeated  for 
presidency,  547 

McCormick,  R.  C.,  quoted,  215,  252 
McCormick  reaper  case,  in  1857,  173-176 
McCulloch,  Hugh,  quoted,  332;  secretary 
of  the  treasury,  294;  at  L’s  death-bed, 
591-593 

McCullough,  John  Edward,  summoned  to 
meet  L.,  469-470 


618 


INDEX 


McDonald,  Senator,  138 
McHenry,  Henry,  quoted,  46 
McNeill,  James,  (McNamar),  Anne  Rut- 
ledge’s suitor,  49-50 

Macon  County,  HI.,  Lincoln  family  settle 
in,  21 

Manassas  defeat,  410-411 
Markland,  Mr.,  quoted,  321-322 
Mason,  Senator,  100 
Mason  and  Slidell  affair,  340-344 
Massachusetts,  first  to  put  regiment  in  the 
field  in  Civil  War,  314 
Meade,  George  G.,  mentioned,  499,  501; 
opinion  of  McClellan,  401;  succeeds 
Hooker,  498;  criticized  for  Lee’s  escape, 
503-504;  asks  to  be  relieved,  504; 
answers  criticism,  504;  does  not  press 
resignation,  505;  L.’s  opinion  modified, 
506-507 

Meigs,  Montgomery  C.,  334;  at  L’s 

death-bed,  591 

“ Merrimac,”  frightens  New  Yorkers,  338; 
Hampton  Roads  defeat,  345;  engage- 
ment with  “Monitor,”  390-391 
Messages  and  proclamations,  inaugural 
message,  loss  feared,  283;  colloquialisms 
in,  471-473 

Messages  and  proclamations,  quotations, 
inaugural  address,  287-291;  volunteers 
called  for,  313-314;  blockade  of  southern 
ports,  317-318;  Key  West,  Tortugas, 
and  Santa  Rosa,  concerning  authority, 
318;  Virginia  convention,  response  to, 
319-320;  to  congress,  July  4,  1861, 
322-325;  first  annual  message,  348-350; 
President’s  general  order.  No.  1,  Feb. 
22,  1862,  383;  thanksgiving  proclama- 
tion, April  10,  1862,  385-386;  emancipa- 
tion, appeal  to  border  states,  421-422; 
final  proclamation,  433-435,  438,  441- 
444;  second  annual  message,  440-441; 
Thanksgiving,  1863,  508-510;  fourth 
annual  message,  552;  inaugural  address, 
second,  557-559;  Gladstone’s  tribute, 
559-560.  See  also  Speeches  and  Lectures 
Metzgar  murder  case,  134 
Mexican  War,  attitude  of  L.  toward,  101- 
102,  131 

Mexico,  French  invasion,  345 
“Miami,”  Federal  steamboat,  386,  391 
Milroy,  R.  H.,  333,  334 
Milwaukee,  speech  of  L.  at  State  Fair,  389 
Minnesota,  asks  execution  of  Indians,  453 
Minter,  Graham,  L’s  schoolmaster,  quoted, 
32 

“Mirror,”  The  Manchester  (N.  H.)t 
quoted,  221 

Missionary  Ridge,  Grant’s  success,  516 
Mississippi,  seceded,  261 
Missouri  Compromise,  views  of  L.  and 
Douglas,  150-160 

Missouri,  factional  quarrels,  454-457 


Mitchell,  General,  telegram  from,  388,  389 
“Monitor,”  engagement  with  “Merrimac,” 
390-391;  origin  of,  345-347 
Moore,  Ex-governor,  266 
Moore,  Mrs.,  step-sister,  263,  264 
Morgan,  Edwin  D.,  533 
Morse,  John  T.,  quoted,  364 

“Nasby,  Petroleum  V.”  (David  Ross 
Locke),  read  by  L.,  467-468,  548 
Nebraska  Bill.  See  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill 
Negroes,  enlistment  in  army,  373,  484-486; 
justified  by  L.,  507;  New  Year’s  recep- 
tion, 552-553;  grief  over  death  of  L., 
597.  See  also  Emancipation;  Slavery 
Neill,  Secretary  to  L.,  quoted,  536-537,  585 
New  Brunswick  affair,  356 
New  England,  dissatisfaction  with  L.,  529, 
speeches  and  visit  of  L.,  221-223 
New  Salem,  111.,  L.  settles  at,  24;  L.  ap- 
pointed postmaster,  44;  speech  of  L. 
before  literary  society,  44;  now  a deso- 
late waste,  54 

New  Year’s  presidential  reception,  in  1862, 
350;  in  1863,  441;  in  1865,  552-553 
New  York  City,  visit  of  L.  in  1860,  215- 
221,  225-226;  on  inaugural  journey,  276; 
funeral  ceremonies,  598 
New  York  “Tribune.”  See  Greeley, 
Horace 

New  York  troops,  reviewed  July  4,  1861, 
326 

Newpapers,  L’s  favorite  newspaper,  27; 
surveillance,  301 

Nichols,  John  W.,  quoted,  541-542 
Nicolay,  John  G.,  L’s  private  secretary, 
266;*  quoted,  302,  361-362,  478 
Norfolk  captured,  391-392 
Norris,  James  H.,  134 
Nott  and  Brainard,  quoted,  220 
Noyes,  George  C.,  quoted,  194 

Oberkleine,  Frederick,  address  to  L.  at 
Cincinnati,  271-272;  L’s  reply,  272-273 
Office-seekers,  patience  of  L.  toward,  252; 
demands  of,  296;  annoy  L.,  353-354; 
actor  who  wanted  consulship,  470 
Offutt,  Denton,  26;  relations  with  L.,  23- 
24;  26,  quoted,  27;  store  closed  in  1832, 
35 

Oglesby,  Richard  J.,  quoted,  229,  230 
Oregon,  federal  office  offered  L.,  107 

Pain,  John,  169 
Parke,  John  G.,  385 
Parker,  Theodore,  abolitionist,  166 
Parks,  C.  S.,  quoted,  144,  162 
Pearson,  John,  quoted,  81 
Pearson,  Henry  Greenleaf,  quoted,  529- 
530 

Peck,  Ebenezer,  mentioned,  171,  227; 
quoted,  87 


INDEX 


619 


Pemberton,  J.  C.,  501,  525,  526 
Pennsylvania,  invaded  by  Lee,  497 
Pennypacker,  Isaac  R.,  quoted,  505 
Petersburg,  111.,  surveyed  and  planned  by 
L.,  67 

Petersburg, Va.,  victory,  and  visit  by  L.,  567 
Philadelphia,  visited  on  inaugural  journey, 
277-278;  receives  news  of  L’s  death, 
594-596 

Phillips,  Wendell,  abolitionist,  166,  245; 

interview  with  L.,  482-484 
Piatt,  Don,  quoted,  252-253 
Pierce,  Franklin,  354 
Pierpont,  John,  visits  L.,  468-469 
Pinkerton,  Allan,  179 
Polk,  James  K.,  campaign,  98-99 
Pomeroy,  Senator,  368 
Poore,  Benjamin  Perley,  quoted,  301-302, 
445 

Pope,  John,  defeat  at  Manassas,  410-411; 
succeeded  by  McClellan,  411,  414;  Bull 
Run  disaster,  437 

Porter,  D.  D.,  aids  Grant,  501;  interview 
with  L.  at  City  Point,  563-566,  578;  L’s 
visit  to  the  Malvern,  566-567;  visits 
Petersburg  with  L.,  567-568;  described 
visit  to  Richmond  with  L.,  568-573; 
interview  with  L.  at  City  Point,  578; 
quoted,  522-523 
Prime,  Irenaeus,  quoted,  276 
Pringle,  Cyrus,  the  case  of,  398-399 
Proclamations.  See  Messages  and  Procla- 
mations 

Quakers,  L’s  ancestry,  2;  war  scruples, 
398-399;  demand  emancipation,  425-427 

Rail-splitting  episode,  23 

Ramsey,  Senator,  536 

Rathbone,  Major,  at  Ford’s  Theatre,  587; 

struggles  with  Booth,  590-591 
Raymond,  Henry  J.,  quoted,  205,  314-315 
Rebellion,  War  of.  See  Civil  War 
Reconstruction,  L.’s  speech  on,  quoted, 
575-576;  policy  of  L.,  576-581 
Reid,  Whitelaw,  548 
Reno,  Jesse  L.,  385 

Republican  party,  birth  of,  159;  organized 
in  Illinois,  169;  national  convention  in 
1856,  170;  asked  L.  to  speak  in  Ohio, 
211;  advice  of  L.  to,  219;  Illinois  con- 
vention of  1860,  229;  national  conven- 
tion, 1860,  231-237;  growth  and 

tendencies,  251;  fears  for  L’s  loyalty, 
271;  partisan  and  unreasonable,  293; 
office-seekers,  296;  elections  of  1863, 
510-511;  national  convention  of  1864, 
534 

Reynolds,  John,  call  for  volunteers,  36,  39 
Rhett,  Robert  B.,  100 
Richardson,  William  A.,  resolution  sup- 
ported by  L.,  101 


Richmond,  plans  to  capture,  405-407;  fall 
of,  568;  visited  by  L.,  568-573 
Riddle,  A.  G.  part  in  Lincoln-Chase  affair, 
533-534;  urges  Chase’s  appointment  as 
chief  justice’,  550-551;  quoted,  274,  276, 
281,  291,  381,  395-396,  450,  451,  543-544 
Rock  Valley,  35 
Rollins,  James  S.,  quoted,  554 
Rosecrans,  W.  S.,  sent  to  Missouri,  456- 
457 

Ross,  A.  M.,  quoted,  352-356 
Rothschild,  Alonzo,  quoted,  294-295 
Rousseau,  Kentucky  legislator,  321 
Russell,  Lord  John,  protest  of,  in  Trent 
affair,  343 

Rutledge,  Anne,  L’s  love-affair  with,  49- 
52 

Schenck,  Robert  C.,  333 
Schofield,  J.  M.,  mentioned,  564,  565; 
replaces  Curtis,  L’s  letter  of  appoint- 
ment, 455-457;  joins  Sherman,  457; 
L’s  concern  about  ability,  565 
Scott,  Colonel,  refused  leave  on  death  of 
wife,  408-410 

Scott,  Winfield,  L’s  order  to  hold  or  retake 
forts,  281;  warns  L.  of  danger,  278; 
pays  respects  to  L.,  281-282;  lacking  as 
politician,  337;  dislike  of  Hooker,  487 
Schurz,  Carl,  seconded  L’s  nomination, 
234;  quoted,  307 

Secession,  states  that  withdrew,  261; 
attitude  of  L.  toward,  262,  287-291, 
320-321;  not  considered  rebellion,  292 
Sedgwick,  John,  view  of  Meade’s  failure  to 
attack  Lee,  504 
Selby,  Paul,  quoted,  158-160 
Seward,  Fanny,  592 

Seward,  Frederick  W.,  warns  L.  of  danger, 
278,  280;  attacked  and  wounded,  591- 
592 

Seward,  Mrs.  Frederick  W.,  423 
Seward,  William  H.,  mentioned,  17,  185, 
296,  297,  305,  343,  441,  485,  593;  opposes 
Nebraska  bill,  153;  doubt  of  his  nomi- 
nation, 215;  statesmanship,  231;  candi- 
date for  president,  231-234;  eloquence 
of,  245;  cabinet  possibility,  258,  275; 
sends  warning  ]:o  L.,  278;  appointment 
as  secretary  of  state,  293,  294,  295; 
press  refused  information,  301;  diplo- 
macy, credited  to,  341;  “Premier,” 
self-styled,  364;  arrogance,  366-368; 
rivalry  with  Chase,  366-370;  resigna- 
tion, 368;  senate,  opposition  of,  368; 
L’s  objection  to  his  resignation,  369; 
opposes  negro  enlistment,  373;  emanci- 
pation views,  423;  preliminary  proclama- 
tion views,  436-437,  438;  with  Grant  at 
White  House  reception,  518;  tribute  to 
L.  on  his  re-election,  548-549;  with  L. 
meets  peace  commission,  554-557;  L’s 


620  INDEX 


visit,  after  Richmond,  573;  attacked 
and  wounded,  591-592 
Seward,  Mrs.  William  H.,  592 
Shakespeare,  L’s  fondness  for  his  works, 
387,  466 

Shepley,  General,  receives  L.  at  Richmond, 
572-573 

Sherman,  John,  introduces  brother  to  L., 
298-299 

Sherman,  William  T.,  mentioned,  367,  457, 
516,  579;  quoted,  298-299;  march  to  the 
sea,  517;  L ’s  opinion,  552;  at  Atlanta, 
537;  yictories  after  Atlanta,  561-562; 
interview  with  L.  at  City  Point,  563- 
566,  578;  tribute  to  L.,  565-566;  anxiety 
of  L.  and  Grant,  583,  584 
Shields,  James,  ridiculed  by  Mary  Todd, 
93;  duel  with  L.,  93;  L.  wishes  to  suc- 
ceed in  congress,  161,  163 
Shuman,  Andrew,  reports  Lincoln-Douglas 
debates,  198;  quoted,  199 
Sibley,  Judge,  quoted,  84 
Simpson,  Bishop,  officiates  at  L’s  funeral, 
596 

Slavery,  protest  against  pro-slavery  act 
in  Illinois,  65;  L’s  defense  of  fugitive 
slaves,  77;  Independence  Hall  flag- 
raising,  278;  L.  introduces  bill  against, 
104;  L’s  growing  opposition  to,  147- 
153;  L’s  attitude  in  letter  to  Speed, 
151-153;  Peoria  speech,  extract,  155- 
157;  L’s  growing  opposition  to,  166-169, 
178-182;  knowledge  of  L.  regarding, 
186;  Cincinnati  speech,  211-212;  Cooper 
Institute  speech,  218-220;  L’s  hatred 
for,  growing,  245;  fugitive  slave  law, 
248-249,  434-435;  political  issue,  251; 
attitude  of  L.  toward,  254;  L.  opposes 
compromises,  261;  legislation  against, 
1862,  421;  L’s  own  account  of  his  views, 
446-448;  L’s  attitude  in  fourth  annual 
message,  552;  constitutional  amend- 
ment, 553-554.  See  also  Emancipation 
Slocum,  Henry  W.,  504 
Smith,  Caleb  B.,  secretary  of  the  interior, 
293,  294;  non-committal  on  Ericsson’s 
invention,  347 

Smith, Goldwin,  visits  L.,  357-358;  quoted, 
358-359 

Smith,  James,  591 

Smith,  William  Henry,  quoted,  269-273, 
550 

Smoot,  Coleman,  friendship  with  L.,  29-30 
“Soldiers’  Rest,”  Lincoln’s  summer  home 
during  presidency,  401 
South  Carolina,  seceded,  261 
Southern  Confederacy.  See  Confederate 
states 

Sparrow,  Thomas  and  Betsy,  6 
Spaulding,  Judge,  533,  534 
Speeches  and  lectures,  in  congress  in  1848, 
40;  candidate  for  member  of  legislature, 


41;  to  New  Salem  literary  society,  44; 
stump-speaking,  55;  on  “Spot  Resolu- 
tions,” 101;  on  the  presidency  and 
general  politics,  102;  age  of  different 
inventions,  119;  to  Scott  club  of  Spring- 
field,  147;  eulogy  on  death  of  Clay, 
147;  Bloomington  convention,  167-168; 
“ House-divided-against-itself,”  178-182, 
473;  lectures  in  winter  of  1859, 
210;  political  speeches  in  Ohio,  211; 
political  speeches  in  Kansas,  213;  in- 
vitation to  lecture  in  Beecher’s  church, 
214;  Cooper  Institute  speech,  215-221, 
223-224;  in  New  England,  221-223; 
accusation  of  fees  received  for  speeches, 
223-224;  Five  Points  Sunday  School, 
N.  Y.,  talk,  225-226;  inaugural  journey, 
268-276;  Wisconsin  state  fair,  389 
Speeches  and  lectures,  quotations,  influ- 
ence of  Weem’s  life  of  Washington,  15; 
Perpetuation  of  our  political  institu- 
tions, 63-65;  Peace  plea,  158;  Bloom- 
ington ratification  meeting,  169-170; 
“House-divided-against-itself,”  180,  426, 
473;  Appeal  for  a hearing  in  southern 
Illinois,  199-200;  Cincinnati,  1859,  211; 
Cooper  Institute  speech,  218-219; 
Presidential  nomination,  response,  243; 
Springfield  farewell,  267;  Cincinnati  in 
1861,  270;  Cincinnati,  reply  to  Ober- 
kleine,  272-273;  Philadelphia,  on  in- 
augural journey,  278;  after  Bull  Run, 
328;  Slavery,  426;  Emancipation  proc- 
lamation, speech  following,  444-445; 
Gettysburg  address,  text,  512,  com- 
ments, 512-515;  Grant’s  commission, 
presentation  of,  519;  Richmond,  to 
negroes,  571;  Close  of  war,  574;  Recon- 
struction, last  speech,  575-576.  See  also 
Lincoln-Douglas  debates;  Messages  and 
proclamations 

Speed,  Joshua  F.,  mentioned,  294,  322; 
first  interview  with  L.,  69-70;  L’s 
home  with,  88;  intimate  friend  of  L., 
95-96;  opinion  of  L’s  ability  as  a 
lawyer,  145-146;  L’s  letter  to  sister  of 
Speed,  quoted,  148;  L’s  letter  to,  on 
slavery,  151;  compares  L.  and  Douglas, 
182-183;  appointed  attorney  general, 
294;  at  L’s  death-bed,  591 
“Spot  Resolutions,”  speech,  101 
Springfield,  111.,  L.  moves  to,  60;  agitation 
over  removal  of  capital,  62,  66;  removal 
accomplished,  69;  L.  returns  to,  109; 
L’s  departure,  Feb.  11,  1861,  265-266; 
recollections  of  L.  about,  584;  funeral 
ceremonies  for  L.,  599 
Stanton,  Edwin  M.,  mentioned,  356,  357, 
399,  461,  497;  professional  meeting  with 
L.,  173-176;  contempt  for  L.,  175; 
appointed  secretary  of  war,  294;  member 
of  Buchanan’s  cabinet,  294,  295;  appli- 


INDEX 


621 


cant  for  office,  296;  press  refused  in- 
formation, 301;  Mason  and  Slidell  cap- 
ture approved,  341;  impulsiveness  and 
violence,  364;  antagonism  to  Welles, 
364,  368;  relations  with  L.,  364-379; 
resignation  threatened,  368;  resignation 
withdrawn,  370;  master-mind  of  cabi- 
net, 370-371;  replaces  Cameron  in 
cabinet,  371;  Cameron’s  own  account, 
372-373;  Fortress  Monroe,  visit  to, 
386-392;  hostility  to  McClellan,  407, 
411-412;  refuses  Col.  Scott  leave  of 
absence,  408-410;  death  of  his  child, 
423;  opposes  the  “Boston  set,”  482; 
discouraged  at  Hooker’s  resignation, 
498;  dispute  with  Grant,  526-527; 
irritated  by  L’s  humor,  548;  relations 
with  Blair,  552;  dispatch  to  Grant,  577; 
reconstruction  plan  proposed,  581;  at 
L’s  death-bed,  591,  593;  at  Seward’s 
bedside,  592 

Steamboat  Invention,  L’s,  24-26 
Stearns,  George  L.,  482 
Stedman,  E.  C.,  quoted,  494—495 
Stephens,  Alexander  IL,  mentioned,  100; 
opinion  of  L.  as  a speaker,  100-101; 
Southern  peace  commissioner,  555;  L’s 
description  of,  556 
Stephenson,  J.  IL,  482 
Stewart,  Harry  W.,  quoted,  213 
Stewart,  James  G.,  recollection  of  L’s 
visit  to  Kansas,  213 

Stone,  Charles  P.,  quoted,  280,  308-310 
Stone  River,  costly  success,  496;  L’s 
dream,  583;  Grant  denies  victory,  583 
Stories  told  by  L.,  Bob  Lewis  and  the 
Mormon  lands,  334-335;  Big  fellow 
beaten  by  little  wife,  429;  Boy  and  the 
troublesome  coon,  580;  Darkey  arithme- 
tic, 357-358;  Horse  sold  at  cross-roads, 
388;  Johnnie  Kongapod,  81;  Jones  and 
his  bridge  to  the  infernal  regions,  338- 
339;  Letting  the  dog  go,  461-462; 
Plaster  of  psalm-tunes,  337;  Sausages 
and  cats,  260;  Shooting  skunks,  373— 
374;  Sick  man  of  Illinois  and  his  grudge, 
344;  Swapping  horses  in  mid-stream, 
535;  Sykes’s  yellow  dog,  525-526; 
Taking  to  the  woods,  336 
Story-telling,  used  on  troublesome  visitors, 
30-31;  fondness  of  L.  for,  68,  84,  101, 
198;  L.  entertains  Van  Buren,  87; 
indelicacy  charge  refuted,  258;  applica- 
tion of  stories,  259;  safety-valve  of  L., 
332-333,  387;  chagrins  friends,  357; 
relieves  bad  news  by,  461 
Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher,  “Uncle  Tom’s 
Cabin,”  245;  quoted,  307-308,  462, 
472-473 


Stuart,  J.  E.  B.,  150,  165,  497 
Stuart,  John  T.,  mentioned,  74;  L’s  first 
acquaintance  with,  38;  law  partner  of 


L.,  71;  on  L’s  method  of  accounting, 
133 

Sumner,  Charles,  mentioned,  304,  305, 
352,  368,  445,  586;  opposes  Nebraska 
Bill,  153;  eloquence  of,  245;  assault 
upon,  245;  member  of  inaugural  party, 
275;  declined  to  measure  backs  with  L., 
336;  lacks  confidence  in  Hooker,  492; 
introduces  constitutional  amendment, 
554;  at  L’s  death-bed,  591 
Sumter.  See  Fort  Sumter 
Swett,  Leonard,  associate  of  L.  in  law  case, 
136;  quoted,  181,  257,  542-543 
Sykes,  George,  504 

Taney,  R.  B.,  administered  oath  of  office 
to  L.,  284,  286;  death,  550 
Tannatt,  T.  R.,  499,  500 
Taylor  Club,  “the  young  Indians,”  100 
Taylor,  Richard  (Dick),  L’s  discomfiture 
of,  57-58 

Taylor,  Zachary,  Black  Hawk  War,  39; 
presidency  supported  byL.  and  Stephens, 
100 

Terry,  Alfred  H.,  564 
Texas,  seceded,  261 

Thirteenth  Amendment  passed,  553-554 
Thomas,  Jesse,  89 
Thomas,  George  II.,  459,  516 
Thompson  George,  468-469 
Thompson,  Jacob,  585-586 
Thompson,  Richard,  81 
Todd,  Captain,  guards  L.  at  White  House, 
308-309 

Todd,  Mary.  See  Lincoln,  Mary  Todd 
Todd,  Robert  S.,  94 
Toombs,  Robert,  100 
Treat,  Judge,  137,  141 
Trent  Affair,  friendly  attitude  of  France 
and  Spain,  305;  L’s  diplomacy  in,  340- 
344 

Trumbull,  Lyman,  mentioned,  74;  185, 

368;  elected  senator,  161,  162,  164;  sub- 
stitute amendment  introduced  by  554 

Usher,  John  D.,  appointed  secretary  of  the 
interior,  294 

Vallandigham,  Clement  L.,  opposes  war 
policy,  481;  candidate  for  governor  of 
Ohio,  510;  L’s  opinion  of,  511 
Van  Buren,  Martin,  mentioned,  360; 

entertained  by  L’s  stories,  87 
Vandalia,  111.,  proposed  change  of  state 
capital,  62,  66 

Van  Santvoord,  C.,  quoted,  451-452 
Verdi,  Dr.,  592 

Vicksburg,  mentioned,  516,  517,  518,  524; 
turning-point  in  war,  496;  campaign, 
500-503;  L’s  joy  over  victory,  501, 
507;  L.  meets  criticism  with  anecdote, 
525;  L’s  dream,  583 


622 


INDEX 


Viele,  General,  describes  visit  to  Fortress 
Monroe,  386-391 

Virginia  Convention,  asks  expression  of 
Federal  policy,  318 

Volk,  Leonard  W.,  impressions  of  L., 
201-202;  makes  cast  of  L.,  237-243 
Voorhees,  Daniel  W.,  81 

Wade,  Benjamin,  mentioned,  535;  urges 
Grant’s  dismissal,  503;  lack  of  military 
judgment,  505 
Wadsworth,  James  S.,  296 
Walker,  Isaac,  recollections  of  L.,  88 
Washburne,  E.  B.,  mentioned  225;  L’s 
letters  to,  against  compromise,  260- 
261;  giving  orders  for  Scott,  261; 
quoted,  105,  173,  279;  bill  creating  rank 
of  lieutenant-general,  516 
Washington,  D.  C.,  L.  reluctant  to  leave 
in  1849,  109;  L’s  arrival,  Feb.  23,  1861, 
279-280;  inaugural  week,  281-290; 
rebels  and  rebel  sympathizers  in,  292; 
defenses  visited  by  L.,  400;  regarded  as 
lost,  413;  relieved,  414;  society  in  1862- 
1863,  449-450;  Early’s  attack,  533, 
537;  enthusiasm  over  Lee’s  surrender, 
574-575 

Washington,  George,  mentioned,  360; 
influence  of  Weem’s  life  of  W.  on  L.,  8, 
15;  life  read  by  L.  as  case  preparation, 
78;  L.  ranked  with,  527,  549 
Watson,  assistant  secretary  of  state,  375 
Watterson,  Henry,  quoted  4 
Webster,  Daniel,  mentioned,  100,  185; 

considered  a leader,  529-530 
WTeed,  Thurlow,  mentioned,  474;  quoted, 
257-260;  discusses  cabinet  appoint- 
ments, 257-259;  L’s  letter  to,  Dec.  17, 
1860,  extract,  262;  objects  to  W'elles,  365 
Weitzel,  Godfrey,  occupies  Richmond, 
568;  headquarters  in  Richmond,  572 
Wreldon,  Lawrence,  quoted,  139,  334 
Welles,  Gideon,  mentioned,  347,  460,  511; 
cabinet  possibility,  259;  appointed 
secretary  of  the  navy,  293;  approves 
Mason  and  Slidell  capture,  341;  calm- 
ness of,  364;  antagonism  to  Stanton, 
364,  368;  at  L’s  death-bed,  591-594; 
quoted,  292-293,  320,  325,  333,  345„ 
365-366,  367,  368-369,  411-412,  412- 
413,  417,  423-424,  432,  438,  439,  440, 
457-458,  473-474,  492,  493,  497,  501, 
506,  511,  531,  535,  538,  540,  551-552, 
555,  556-557,  563,  577,  581,  583-584, 
591-594,  597 

Welles,  Mrs.  Gideon,  mentioned,  591 
“ Westminster  Review,”  on  Gettysburg 
address,  513 


Wheeler,  William  A.,  quoted,  376-378 
Whig  Party,  L.  a delegate  to  presidential 
convention,  104;  L.  believes  he  is  a 
Whig,  153,  157;  symptoms  of  disinte- 
gration, 159;  L.  a leader,  162-163; 
dissolution,  165 
White,  Dr.,  592 
White,  Mrs.,  453 

W hite  House,  L.’s  first  night  at,  292,  L’s 
family  life,  464-465;  office  of  L.  de- 
scribed, 299-300;  official  precedence, 
300-301;  New  Year’s  receptions,  350, 
441;  society  in  1862-63,  449-450;  L’s 
informal  receptions,  450-451;  freedom 
of  access,  459-461;  Grant’s  ovation  at 
reception,  517-518;  reception,  1865,  ne- 
groes attend,  552-553 
Whiting,  solicitor  of  war  department,  375; 

candidate  for  attorney  general,  522 
Whitman,  Walt,  quoted,  263,  589-590, 
597-598 

Whittier,  John  Greenleaf,  abolitionist,  245 
“Wide-awake”  clubs,  250 
Wigfall,  Senator,  286 
W’ilcox,  Major,  quoted,  106 
Wullard’s  Hotel,  Washington,  headquar- 
ters of  L.,  281,  282 
WTillis,  David,  515 
W’ilmington,  L’s  dream,  583 
W’ilmot  Proviso,  L.  votes  for,  153 
W7ilkes,  Charles,  341,  342 
W'ilson,  Robert  L.,  quoted,  62,  85 
Wilson,  Henry,  357,  482 
Winchell,  J.  M.,  quoted,  382;  interview 
with  L.,  531 

W7inslow,  John  F.,  builder  of  “Monitor,” 
345-347 

Winthrop,  Robert  C.,  quoted,  100 
Wisconsin  State  Fair,  addressed  by  L.  in 
1859,  389 

Wrood,  Fernando,  474 
Wool,  John  E.,  392 
W’orkingmen,  L’s  speech  to,  272-273 
Wright,  Elizur,  492 
Wright,  Horatio,  504 

Writings.  See  Letters  and  telegrams;  Mes- 
sages and  proclamations;  Speeches  and 
lectures 

Yates,  Richard,  mentioned,  266;  beginning 
of  friendship  with  L.,  30;  opposes 
Missouri  Compromise,  159;  election  to 
Congress,  150 

“Young  Indians,”  Taylor  club,  100 
Young,  John  Russell,  quoted,  514 
Young  Men’s  Lyceum,  address  of  L. 
quoted,  62 


^ue 


**>  . s 3ft 


